Australian Open 2026: Neal Skupski & Christian Harrison crowned men’s doubles champions
• 3 minute read
Neal Skupski and Christian Harrison have won the Australian Open men’s doubles title after claiming victory over home favourites Jason Kubler and Marc Polman.
Skupski and Harrison fought through the opening set tie-break before finding the decisive break in the second to defeat the Aussies 7-6(4), 6-4 in an hour and 50 minutes on the Rod Laver Arena.
It marks the second Grand Slam title for the Briton, who clinched the 2023 Wimbledon men’s doubles crown with Dutchman Wesley Koolhof, while it was a career-first major title for the American.
“We started playing together in Adelaide two weeks ago, we didn’t know how it would go but it seems to be going pretty well so far", Skupski said in his on court interview after the final.
"We did a week’s training in Baton Rouge at LSU (Louisianna State University) in December - we worked on a few things and that definitely paid off this week.
Harrison added, “Neal, without you this wouldn’t be possible. I’m so excited to get on the court with you. We had some tight moments but I knew your experience was going to pay off and in the end it did. It was fun to battle this match together.”
Skupski becomes the fourth British player to win multiple men's doubles Grand Slam trophies in the Open Era - joining Roger Taylor, Jamie Murray, Joe Salisbury and Henry Patten.
He is also the fourth British player to win the men’s doubles title in Melbourne, joining Murray (2016), Salisbury (2019) and Patten (2025).
Neal Skupski & Christian Harrison’s road to the Australian Open men’s doubles title
- Final: won vs Jason Kubler (AUS, world No.1432) & Marc Polmans (AUS, world No.336) 7-6(4), 6-4
- Semi-final: won vs Horacio Zeballos (ARG, world No.5) & Marcel Granollers (ESP, world No.6) (seeded 3) 6-3, 7-6(7)
- Quarter-final: won vs Petr Nouza (CZE, world No.57) & Patrik Rikl (CZE, world No.56) 6-2, 6-3
- Third round: won vs Tallon Griekspoor (NED, world No.138) & Botic Van de Zandschulp (NED, world No.181) 5-0 (RET)
- Second round: won vs Pedro Martinez (ESP, world No.98) & Jaume Munar (ESP, world No.112) 6-3, 6-2
- First round: won vs Jakub Schnaitter (GER, world No.45) & Mark Wallner (GER, world No.45) 4-6, 6-4, 6-3
Skupski's triumph down under continues an impressive run of British doubles success in the men's game.
It marks the third time in the last five Grand Slam tournaments that at least one British player has lifted the men's doubles title - underlining the depth and consistency within the British doubles game.
"Obviously the doubles system in Britain is very good and that's down to Louis Cayer who has put in a lot of work with everyone", Skupski said in his press conference. "I can't thank him enough - he's changed the way I play doubles and the rest of the guys.
"Obviously (Lloyd) Glasspool and (Julian) Cash had a very good season last year winning all the titles and getting to world No.1, and Patten winning Aussie Open last year and the Nitto ATP Finals.
"Then you've got Joe (Salisbury) and Jamie Murray in the past who have won here. Obviously a lot of credit to Louis Cayer and the doubles system, and it seems to be working, and hopefully we can continue that success throughout the year."
Contesting the fifth Grand Slam final of his career, Skupski was gunning to banish the disappointment of falling short in both the Roland Garros and US Open men’s doubles finals last year.
Skupski and Harrison made the ideal start to the final - breaking the Australian wild card duo in the sixth game of the match to open up a 5-2 lead. However, Kubler - who lifted the Australian Open men’s doubles title in 2023 - and Polmans dialed up the intensity in front of their home crowd and soon recovered the deficit after a handful of baseline exchanges ended with Harrison sending a forehand wide.
With the scoreboard locked at 6-6, we headed into a tie-break. The Aussies rode their momentum to an early mini break but the British, American duo produced the perfect response - winning five of the next six points before Skupski put away an overhead at the net to seal the opener.
Skupski and Harrison build on their tie-break success by securing down another early break in the third game of the second set. The sixth seeds were clinical on serve throughout the match - winning 80% (43/54) of points behind their first serve and firing 11 aces compared to their opponents two.
In a fitting end to an impressive performance, Harrison went on to seal victory on the pair's second match point by sending an ace down the T to claim their first Grand Slam title together.
