Top seeds Carlos Alcaraz and Aryna Sabalenka have reached the second round of the Australian Open despite some early scares as the main draw of the first tennis Grand Slam of 2026 kicks off in Melbourne.

Despite beating world No. 1 Alcaraz in straight sets on Sunday, he was pushed into a corner by home qualifier Adam Walton in the second round.

The Spaniard won 6-3, 7-6 (7-2), 6-2 in two hours and five minutes to begin his quest for a first Australian Open title that would help him complete a career Grand Slam.

The defending French and US Open champion hit eight aces and 38 winners and will face Germany’s Yannick Hanfmann in the second round.

But he also made 36 unforced errors, more than his 81st-ranked opponent.

He has not reached the quarter-finals on any of his four trips to Australia, losing at this stage last year to Novak Djokovic and Alexander Zverev.

If Alcaraz breaks the Australian drought, he will become the youngest career Grand Slam player, surpassing retired compatriot Rafael Nadal, who won all four majors at the age of 24.

He will also become the youngest person to win seven Grand Slams in the Open era since 23-year-old Bjorn Borg.

Meanwhile, error-strewn Sabalenka got off to a poor start in the title race as she beat French wild card Tiantsoa Rakotomanga Rajaonah 6-4, 6-1.

The world number one is bidding for her third Melbourne title in four years and will next face Russia’s Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova or Chinese qualifier Bai Zhuoxuan.

“I didn’t play my best, but she played well; it was a tricky start,” said Sabalenka, who lost in last year’s final.

The 27-year-old Belarusian, fresh off his season-opening victory at the Brisbane International, got off to a rocky start, conceding the first three points of the match on serve.

With Roger Federer looking on, Sabalenka equalized but then missed again, falling a set behind in front of a stunned Rod Laver Arena.

Sabalenka was on track to win a fifth career Grand Slam title as her form rebounded, but if she expected the spirited world No. 118 to disappear, that didn’t happen immediately.

The defending U.S. Open champion apologized to his inferior opponent when he hit the 20-year-old in the head with a forehand while leading 4-4.

Sabalenka’s errors kept piling up, but she eventually broke through Rajaona’s resistance and took the first set, then easily won the second.

“I’m very happy to have found my level,” said Sabalenka, who made 13 unforced errors in the first set.

“It’s always tricky playing a young guy, someone you don’t know and a lefty.”

Earlier, Zverev, runner-up to Yannick Sinner last year, shook off a sluggish start to the afternoon session to beat Gabriel Diallo 6-7(7), 6-1, 6-4, 6-2 to reach the second round for the tenth consecutive year.

“Of course, when I saw the draw, I wasn’t too happy to be honest,” he said of the tricky challenge posed by the 41st-ranked Diallo. “He’s very young, very talented. Incredibly aggressive.

“I would say the first set was not my best tennis. After that it was much better for me.”

Seventh-seeded Jasmine Paolini beat Aliaksandra Sasnovich 6-1, 6-2, while 12th-seeded Elena Svitolina and Maria Sakkari also advanced in straight sets.

Former Wimbledon champion Markta Vondrousova withdrew from her scheduled first-round match due to a shoulder injury, giving up her main draw spot to lucky loser Taylor Townsend in the qualifying round to face Hayley Baptiste, who won 6-3, 6-7 (3), 6-3.

Frances Tiafoe defeated Jason Kubler 7-6 (4), 6-3, 6-2 and Michael Cheng defeated Sebastian Korda 6-4, 6-4, 3-6, 6-7 (0), 6-3 in the first round of the national tournament at Kia Arena.

Zheng Zhi will next face No. 32 player Corentin Moutet. Moutet was booed after serving under the armpit at the match point, and finally defeated Tristan Skucket 6-4, 7-6(1), 6-3.

No. 20 Flavio Coboli became the first male seed to withdraw from the tournament, losing to British qualifier Arthur Fery 7-6 (1), 6-4, 6-1.

In another highly anticipated event, former champion Venus Williams was unable to advance after being awarded a wild card by tournament organizers.

Olga Danilovic beat Williams 6-7(5), 6-3,‍6-4 in the deciding set as the Serb fought back from 4-0 down to knock the American veteran out.

Williams, a seven-time Grand Slam champion, returned to tennis last season after a 16-month hiatus, returning five years later to become the oldest woman ever to compete in a singles main draw.