World number one Aryna Sabalenka brushed aside Marta Kostyuk 6-4, 6-3 in the Brisbane International final on Sunday to retain the title without losing a set ahead of her bid to reclaim the Australian Open title this month.
In five and a half hours of scintillating tennis, the third longest match ever at the Australian Open, Alcaraz won the controversy-riddled encounter.
IMAGES from the Australian Open matches played at Melbourne Park in Melbourne on Thursday.
As Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner prepare for their season-opening exhibition match in Incheon, the world's top two men's tennis players floated the prospect of one day playing together in a doubles tournament.
Iga Swiatek has dismissed suggestions the career slam is driving her Australian Open campaign this year, with the world number two saying on Friday that she tries to block out outside noise and focus only on "grinding match by match".
Carlos Alcaraz beat his great rival Jannik Sinner 7-5, 7-6(8) to win their Hyundai Card Super Match exhibition event in Incheon, South Korea, on Saturday that marked the start of the season for the world's top two men's tennis players.
Carlos Alcaraz battled a leg issue and survived a five-hour, 27-minute thriller against Alexander Zverev to reach his first Australian Open final and keep his career Grand Slam dream alive.
Australian Grand Prix chief executive Travis Auld anticipates no impact on this weekend's Formula One season-opener at Melbourne's Albert Park from the travel issues caused by the conflict in the Middle East.
Players struggled with cramp and injuries on the second day of the Australian Open on Monday, headlined by the retirement of seventh seed Felix Auger-Aliassime while his compatriot Marina Stakusic needed a wheelchair to leave the court.
Oscar Piastri crashed his McLaren during a reconnaissance lap ahead of the Australian Grand Prix, forcing him to retire from the race. The incident occurred at turn four, causing significant damage to his car.
Defending champion Jannik Sinner scorched American eighth seed Ben Shelton 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 and moved into the Australian Open semi-finals.
Jannik Sinner said he had to prioritise preparations for his Australian Open title defence.
Medvedev had said he did not like playing Tien after a trilogy of matches that went the distance last year and the 20-year-old American proved him right with a clinical performance that included 33 winners.
Mercedes's George Russell lapped the circuit in one minute, 18.518 seconds to win the Australian Open F1 Grand Prix qualifying.
Poland battled past Switzerland 2-1 in the United Cup final on Sunday to banish the pain of title-round defeats in the previous two editions and secure a long-awaited maiden triumph in the season-opening mixed-team competition.
Novak Djokovic's quest for a record Grand Slam title continued in dramatic circumstances after fifth seed Lorenzo Musetti quit their Australian Open quarter-final match with an injury after taking a two-set lead at Melbourne Park on Wednesday.
Carlos Alcaraz would rather win his first Australian Open than retain his French Open and US Open titles next year, the Spaniard said on Friday, a day after sealing the year-end world number one ranking at the ATP Finals.
Elena Rybakina held her nerve to outlast world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 in a thrilling Australian Open 2026 women's singles final at Rod Laver Arena on Saturday.
Sinner remains the man to beat at Melbourne Park even as doping officials seek a two-year ban for the world number one for failing two drugs tests last March.
Though having won the French Open and a second Wimbledon crown last year with his previous serving action, Alcaraz was unhappy with its accuracy and overall strain on the body.
Danielle Collins will exit the Australian Open as public enemy number one after roasting a hostile crowd at the Grand Slam and the American said following her defeat on Saturday that it was up to the fans if they wanted to repair their relationship.
Djokovic took aim at his critics the day after his exit from the tournament, posting photos of an MRI scan of the injury on social media and Tiley was certain the Serb had done everything possible to be ready for the semi-final.
Defending champion Norris slams 'worst' F1 cars
Some 25,000-30,000 fans will be admitted to Melbourne Park on each day of the Grand Slam and Novak Djokovic got a taste of what was to come when he played an exhibition match in Adelaide after coming out of quarantine on Friday.
Jannik Sinner begins his Australian Open title defence against Nicolas Jarry while women's champion Aryna Sabalenka takes on 2017 U.S. Open winner Sloane Stephens
Jannik Sinner has sprinted past opponents at the Australian Open in his quest for a maiden Grand Slam but could end up running a marathon in the final against Daniil Medvedev on Sunday, when Melbourne Park will crown a new king.
Having been at the receiving end in the final in 2011 and 2013, Li Na, on her third attempt, will hope to become the first player from Asia to win the Australian Open, a tournament that is billed as the Grand Slam of the Asia Pacific.
Madison Keys fought through a leg injury to beat Jessica Pegula
Carlos Alcaraz played dream-wrecker to Novak Djokovic again as he floored the record-chasing Serb 2-6, 6-2, 6-3, 7-5 for a first Australian Open title and became the youngest man to win all four majors.
Here are images from a hot, hot day from Melbourne Park...
Take a look at six of the up-and-comers who could upset the top names at the year's first Grand Slam.
'It seems it took me a day and a half, and several kilometres of walking around the grounds, to find coffee.'
IMAGES from the Australian Open Men's semi-finals played on Friday.
Federer being out of the way does not hand Nadal a free path to glory in Melbourne
Learner Tien became the youngest man to reach the Australian Open fourth round in 20 years
Aryna Sabalenka is the red-hot favourite at Melbourne Park, where another victory would give her a fourth major title and widen the gap in the rankings to Poland's Iga Swiatek and Coco Gauff of the United States.
There could be no place more appropriate for Djokovic to finally break free of his tie with Margaret Court on 24 Grand Slam singles titles than in her own backyard at Melbourne Park, where he has won the Norman Brookes Challenge Cup 10 times.
Similar measures were in place during the fourth Ashes Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground from December 26, where specialist police officers armed with semi-automatic rifles patrolled the stadium precinct, nearby parks and railway stations.
Halep reached the Melbourne title match in 2018 but lost a three-set thriller to Caroline Wozniacki. It was the Romanian's third defeat in three Grand Slam finals.
Garbine Muguruza swapped her rackets for crampons and headed to Tanzania with a friend to climb 5,895 metre (19,340 feet) Mount Kilimanjaro, a five-day expedition in which she scaled
