2026 Australian Open by the Numbers

The 2026 Australian Open is now behind us, but there are still noteworthy things to examine beyond the obvious headlines. Yes, Carlos Alcaraz added yet another chapter to his ever-growing legend. Yes, Novak Djokovic finally overcame Jannik Sinner in a significant match. But there are also the numbers, and in sports, numbers matter enormously.

Sports are fundamentally about statistics. They’re everywhere and quite often serve as the primary metric used to determine greatness. Who has the most Grand Slams ever? Novak Djokovic, with 24, is widely considered the greatest of all time, largely because of that number.

Obviously, it’s not purely black and white. There’s more to the sport than raw statistics alone. But sometimes those raw numbers reveal something genuinely interesting about what transpired over two weeks of competition. We’ve compiled some fascinating data from the recently concluded 2026 Australian Open. Here’s what stood out.

2026 Australian Open: By the Numbers

Longest Match

The longest match at this year’s Australian Open was the epic semifinal between Carlos Alcaraz and Alexander Zverev. It was a remarkable contest that lasted five hours and twenty-seven minutes, making it the third-longest match in tournament history.

It had a legitimate chance to go even further, but a late collapse from Zverev allowed Alcaraz to escape with the victory. He would go on to win the entire event, but it was far from a certainty in that match. 

Shortest Match

On the opposite end of the spectrum, the shortest match at the event was the contest between Reilly Opelka and Nicolai Budkov Kjaer. It lasted only ninety-one minutes because neither player showed any interest in extended rallies. Opelka, especially, who is anything but a grinder, posted the highest ace rate of any match in the tournament at thirty-two percent. When points end in three or four shots consistently, matches finish quickly.

Most Aces Total

Another statistic where Reilly Opelka features prominently is the match with the most combined aces. It was an epic five-set battle against Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, which the Spaniard ultimately won. That match featured 49 total aces, 37 from Opelka and 12 from Davidovich Fokina.

Most Aces by a Single Player

When it comes to the match where a single player recorded the most aces, that distinction belongs to a native Australian. They’ve always been known for quality serving, and Alexei Popyrin is no exception to that tradition. In his loss against Alexandre Muller, the Australian struck forty aces. Pretty impressive output, but he still lost, which proves that aces alone aren’t sufficient to win matches at this level.

Most Break Points/Most Break Points Saved

The match with the most break points belonged to Tomas Machac and Lorenzo Musetti. It was an intensely competitive encounter with numerous momentum swings and dramatic turns. The match alone featured 41 total break points, with Machac saving 18 of them, the most saved in a single match at the tournament.

Most Serve Dominated Match

The most serve dominant match came in the contest between Alexander Bublik and Tomas Martin Etcheverry. In that match, 75% of all service points were won, representing an exceptionally high success rate for both players. Even so, Bublik managed to win the match without undue difficulty, which was quite the achievement given how well both men were serving.

Most Return Dominated Match

On the return side, the match in which returns were of the highest quality was between Fabian Marozsan and Kamil Majchrzak. The players combined to win 45% of all return points, which is genuinely extraordinary when you consider that professional tennis typically heavily favors the server. 

Best Individual Serve and Return Performances

Finally, we’ll conclude with the best individual serving and returning performances on a particular day. For serving, that distinction belongs to Novak Djokovic in the first round against Pedro Martinez, where he won 91% of all his service points. 

For returning, Carlos Alcaraz takes the honor with his performance against Corentin Moutet, 52% of all return points. 

There you have it. The 2026 Australian Open broken down through the lens of numbers that reveal the extraordinary variety of tennis played over those two weeks in Melbourne.