Get to Know 2026’s Australian Open Men’s Singles Qualifiers (and one Lucky Loser so far)

The qualifiers have battled their way through, and now taken their place in the main draw, each of them earning at least $150,000 Australian for their efforts. Here’s a blurb about all 17 of them.

Nishesh Basavareddy (USA) — No.239 | Age: 20

A promising young American, now working with Daniil Medvedev’s former coach, Gilles Cervara, will face Aussie Christopher O’Connell in round one. 

Nicolai Budkov Kjær (NOR) — No.135 | Age: 19

Rising Norwegian making his way onto the Grand Slam stage after a strong qualifying campaign. He is a former junior No.1 who won the Wimbledon boys title in 2024. 

Martin Damm (USA) — No.177 | Age: 22

Hard-serving southpaw faces Valentin Vacherot in round one. 

Liam Draxl (CAN) — No.145 | Age: 24

Canadian faces Damir Dzumhur in his opener, as he makes his main draw major debut. 

Jaime Faria (POR) — No.151 | Age: 22

Faria reached the second round at Melbourne last year, and will face France’s Arthur Cazaux in round one. 

Arthur Fery (GBR) — No.185 | Age: 23

British left-hander, former Stanford alum and NCAA quarterfinalist, draws 20th-seeded Flavio Cobolli in round one. 

Arthur Géa (FRA) — No.198 | Age: 21

Frenchman gets Jiri Lehecka, the No.17 seed, in round one, for his Grand Slam main draw debut.

Jason Kubler (AUS) — No.192 | Age: 32

Experienced Australian who reached the second week at Wimbledon in 2022 and owns nine career Grand Slam singles match wins, gets Tiafoe in Round one. 

Rei Sakamoto (JPN) — No.202 | Age: 19

Former junior Grand Slam champion gets another rising force in Spanish qualifier Rafa Jodar in round one. 

Rafa Jodar (ESP) — No.150 | Age: 19

Spanish phenom took out Luca Van Assche in the final round of qualifying. He went 41-13 across all levels in 2025 with three challenger titles and a trip to the Next Gen ATP finals. 

Zachary Svajda (USA) — No.143 | Age: 23

American with multiple Challenger titles faces Yannick Hanfmann in round one, with the winner likely facing Alcaraz next. Svajda faced Djokovic in round two at the US Open, losing in four sets. 

Dane Sweeny (AUS) — No.182| Age: 24

Local Australian who stood on a chair to shake hands with Reilly Opelka after a recent loss, will face Gael Monfils in round one. 

Wu Yibing (CHN) — No.168 | Age: 26

Former world No.54 is back in the main draw at a Slam for the first time since the 2023 US Open, and will face Luca Nardi in round one. 

Elias Ymer (SWE) — No.175 | Age: 29

Swede searching for his first Slam win since 2018, faces Shevchenko in round one. 

Michael Zheng (USA) — No.174 | Age: 21

In November, Zheng of Columbia became the ninth men’s tennis player to repeat as an NCAA champion. He faces Sebastian Korda in round one. 

Francesco Maestrelli (ITA) — No.141 | Age: 23

6’5” Italian faces Terence Atmane in round one. 

Dino Prižmić (CRO) — No.127 | Age: 20

Lucky Loser — Croatian was the 2003 Roland-Garros boys champion faces Aussie wild card James Duckworth in round one.