Australian Open 2026: Katie Boulter headlines the British challenge in qualifying

Players will have to win three rounds of qualifying to claim one of the 16 spots on offer for the main draw at the Australian Open, which starts from Sunday 18 January.

Katie Boulter is currently the third highest ranked player on the women’s singles qualifying entry list and will be joined by fellow compatriots Harriet Dart and 18-year-old Mimi Xu.

Boulter has made the second round at the Australian Open in each of the last two years and has already made a winning start to the year in Auckland.

Dart finished 2025 by winning the W75 Toronto title, while Xu took home the biggest title of her career at the Lexus Wrexham Open.

In men’s singles qualifying, Billy Harris leads the charge after a strong showing at the United Cup, alongside Jan Choinski, Dan Evans, Oliver Crawford, Arthur Fery, Jack Pinnington Jones, Ryan Peniston, George Loffhagen and Jay Clarke.

Harris won his opening match of the United Cup against Shintaro Mochizuki, and pushed two-time Grand Slam runner-up Stefanos Tsitsipas to three sets in his second match.

Several other Brits head to Melbourne Park in good form as well. Choinski won four ATP Challenger Tour titles last year and was one of nine Brits – including Harris, Fery, Pinnington Jones, Peniston and Clarke.

For Fery, Pinnington Jones and Loffhagen, this will be their first appearance at the Australian Open.

British players in Australian Open qualifying

They will all be hoping to join the five Brits already confirmed for the singles main draw this year – including Emma Raducanu, Sonay Kartal, Francesca Jones, Cam Norrie and Jacob Fearnley.

Jack Draper has already announced that he will not be playing at the Australian Open this year due to injury.

Read our full preview of the 2026 Australian Open