What to Watch on Day 9 of the Australian Open

Where does the time go? The Australian Open is already more than half way over, and that means that we’ve already played through over 12.5 percent of the 2026 Grand Slam season.

Hope it doesn’t go too fast, as we tennis fans love it when moments last a while.

With that in mind, we look forward to some special moments on Day 9 down under, as the bottom half of the men’s and women’s singles draw will fill its last four quarterfinal spots.

See the full Day 9 schedule here

Here’s what we’ll be watching.

Who takes charge and seizes this moment?

The Battle of the Podcast Hosts

Madison Keys and Jessica Pegula are playing for bragging rights, and they are also playing to get their podcast some more exposure. Why not multitask on Rod Laver Arena, as the pair of Top-10 talents will feature as playing billboards for The Player’s Box podcast, with a spot in the quarterfinals on the line. Defending champion Keys, riding a 10-match Aussie Open winning streak, has taken her last two matches against Pegula, so it will be up to the Buffalo native to find a way to rattle her co-host’s world-class power game.

Italians, Americans

There are eight singles matches on the docket for Day 9, which means 16 different players are bidding for the quarterfinals, and half of them are either from the United States (5) or Italy (3).

We’ve mentioned Keys and Pegula, but Amanda Anisimova, seeded fourth, is still in the running to reach a third consecutive major final, while Ben Shelton (vs Casper Ruud) and Taylor Fritz (vs Lorenzo Musetti) are also in action for the stars and stripes.

On the Italian front, Jannik Sinner will be in action against compatriot Luciano Darderi, who is making his first round of 16 appearance at the majors. Sinner has won 17 straight at the Australian Open, and 30 of his last 31 at the hard court majors, while Darderi is just starting to come into his own on hard courts. He has won three in a row on the surface for the first time in his career.

Iga, Rybakina on Collision Course

Iga Swiatek will face Aussie qualifier Maddison Inglis in the Rod Laver night session, the six-time major champion a big favorite against a woman who went through via walkover when Naomi Osaka pulled out of her third-round match with Inglis due to an ab injury.

Over on Margaret Court, Elena Rybakina, 2023 Aussie Open finalist, will take on Elise Mertens.

Both will be heavily favored, and if they come through unscathed it will set up a highly anticipated quarterfinal between the two forces. Swiatek now holds the 6-5 lifetime edge in her head-to-head with Rybakina, but it was Rybakina who took their last meeting, 3-6, 6-1, 6-0 at the WTA Finals in Riyadh in November.

Swiatek, bidding to complete the career Grand Slam in Melbourne this year, has never been beyond the semifinals at the Australian Open.