Roger Federer hailed the dominance of Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner as the six-time champion returned to the Australian Open for the first time since his retirement in 2022.

Federer, who last travelled to Australia in 2020, will headline the inaugural opening ceremony with a doubles exhibition match alongside Andre Agassi, Patrick Rafter and Lleyton Hewitt.

“The rivalry with Alcaraz and Sinner is a great one,” said Federer. “They play incredible tennis. I think that French Open final was unreal. I think the game, not that it needed it, but it was great that we had it.”

Federer continued: “Then they backed it up by playing against each other in all those other finals. Everybody is trying to keep up and they’re trying to pull away. What we’ve seen in terms of their progression in the last years, it’s been wonderful.

“I practised with those guys a little bit. They’re incredible ball strikers. There’s obviously more to come. I just hope they stay injury free.”

Alcaraz will face Adam Walton of Australia in his first round match at Melbourne Park after the 2026 Australian Open draw ceremony was conducted on Thursday afternoon. Sinner, the second seed, will begin his title defence against France’s Hugo Gaston.

It remains to be seen if any challenger is capable of competing with either of the top two as both players chase historic victories in Melbourne.

Alcaraz, the men’s No 1, will be attempting to become the youngest man in history to win the career grand slam at just 22 years old. While Alcaraz has already won every other major twice, he is yet to pass the quarter-final stage at the Australian Open.

Sinner will attempt to win his third consecutive title in Melbourne. He will begin his title defence against Hugo Gaston of France.

Seeded fourth, Novak Djokovic was drawn into Jannik Sinner’s half of the Australian Open draw and will face Pedro Martinez in round one. Djokovic, who has won the Australian Open a record 10 times, will be attempting to put together another deep run and challenge for the title in his 22nd grand slam season.

The stakes are just as high in the women’s draw as Iga Świątek, the No 2 seed, will also be attempting to complete her career grand slam with a seventh major title overall, after previously winning four French Open titles and a title at Wimbledon and the US Open.

Swiatek, a semi-finalist in 2022, will begin her tournament against a qualifier, but she has been handed a difficult draw in the bottom half. The Pole could face Naomi Osaka, the 31st seed and two-time champion, the fifth seed, Elena Rybakina, and Amanda Anisimova, the fourth seed, in consecutive rounds.

At the top of the draw, world No 1, Aryna Sabalenka, seeks her third Australian Open title. Sabalenka’s loss in last year’s final to Madison Keys also marked her third consecutive final in Melbourne. The Belarusian, who won her 22nd WTA title in Brisbane last week, begins her Australian Open campaign against Sarah Rakotomang Rajaonah of France.