Jakub Mensik Makes Progress In Melbourne

Jakub Mensik suffered a saddening injury on the eve of an Australian Open last 16 tie with his idol Novak Djokovic. The paring had history, meeting at the Miami Open final last year, however, we’ll have to wait for another showdown. Djokovic now awaits Carlos Alcaraz in the final after defeating Jannik Sinner in a classic semifinal.  Nevertheless, we analyse the young Czech’s start to the season, a player who will be looking to be a conversation at the latter stages of slams in the coming years.

A Positive Tournament For Jakub Mensik

It all started on a warm Tuesday afternoon. Court 6 had just witnessed Varvara Gracheva defeat Viktorija Golubic 6-1 2-6 6-2. Awaiting the packed in crowd was a first round match which would take over twice as long as the opening act.

A Streaky 2025

Jakub Mensik arrived in the Australian Open seeded #16. Of the 2,345 ranking points to his name, 1,000 came from a fairy tale fortnight in the Miami heat last season, where he lifted his first ever tour title. Jack Draper, Arthur Fils, Taylor Fritz and Novak Djokovic all stood in his way. None successfully. The then 19-year-old showed remarkable grit and bottle, winning 10 of 11 sets, seven of which were tiebreaks.

Admittedly, he wasn’t exactly a nobody before this. Despite failing to make a mark at the Next Gen ATP Finals in 2024, he lost to Learner Tien and Joao Fonseca in deciding set tiebreaks. It was clear he was in their ballpark. If anything, it made the run in Miami ever the more remarkable.

Yet, it was as good as it got for Mensik. Disappointing displays plagued the rest of the season.

A Positive Start To The Season

2026 began with a bang, with Mensik lifting his second career title at the ASB Classic. By doing so, he secured the 16th seed spot, therefore guarding him from any other top 16 players until the fourth round.

In the first round he faced Pablo Carreno Busta. A seasoned professional but the type of player Mensik should back himself to beat. After nearly four hours of play, they couldn’t be split at two sets all. Mensik had secured the fourth in a tiebreak but he could have been forgiven if he didn’t feel overly confident heading into a fifth.

It’s early in his career, but many have questioned Mensik’s five set credentials. Last season, Alejandro Davidovich Fokina beat him from two sets down in the third round of the Australian Open. He led qualifier Henrique Rocha during the second round of Rolland Garros. Once again, he let that slip and exited early. In the US Open, he led another qualifier in Ugo Blanchet two sets to one in the second round, before losing in a match tiebreak 10-7.

Yet, in the Australian Summer of 2026, Mensik put his demons behind him and saw off Carreno Busta 6-3. The next two rounds against fellow youngsters Rafael Jodar would be much simpler, winning both in straight sets. For the first time in his senior career, the 20 year old had reached the second round of a Grand Slam.

A Heart-breaking Injury

Yet, on the eve of a mouth-watering re-match against Novak Djokovic, Mensik took to social media to announce a regretful withdrawal. He said, 

“After doing everything we could to keep going, I have to withdraw from the Australian Open due to an abdominal muscle injury that has progressed over the last matches. Even though I’m disappointed, making the fourth round here for the first time is something I will carry with me for a long time.”

Recovery will be the name of the game over the next period of time. It’s a shame as he would have been well placed to pick up some momentum in the indoor hard court season but ultimately it isn’t to be.

He can take heart from his start to 2026, even if he will spend some of it on the treatment table. With his mammoth serve and monstrous ground strokes there is no reason why he won’t be back in the second week of a Slam again. Then, it’s about developing the intricacies to take him to the next level and break into the top 10.