A 3-time AO finalist is out. A 2-time AO champion is on tomorrow's schedule. And, Eala Fever arrives in the Philippines!

Here's a quick catch-up on everything from the Aussie Open and beyond!

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🚨 Perfect Tien Daaaaang, Learner Tien! The American demolishes Daniil Medvedev to hand the Russian his first bagel at a slam in 451 sets. The 20yo American delivers a 6-4, 6-0, 6-3 masterclass over the 11th seed and is now the youngest AO men's quarterfinalist since Nick Kyrgios in 2015.

🔥 This Girl is on Fire! Iva Jovic blitzes into her first grand slam quarterfinal in just 53 minutes, crushing Yulia Putintseva, 6-0, 6-1, in the fastest match of the tournament. Jovic is now the youngest American woman to reach the AO quarterfinals since Venus Williams in 1998.

💔 Czeched Out Mensik withdraws, handing Novak Djokovic a walkover into the quarterfinals. The Czech 19yo pulled out with an abdominal injury, denying fans a rematch of last year's Miami final. Djokovic gets an extra day of rest.

👀 Day 9's Must-Watch Match Madison Keys vs. Jessica Pegula: Good friends, podcast cohosts, quarterfinal opponents. The defending champion faces the #6 seed in an all-American clash on Day 9. If Pegula wins, she's making Keys eat a "cheddar cheese apple pie." Keys says she's highly motivated to avoid this... for several reasons.

🎯 Tiebreaker, You Got the Best of Me Aryna Sabalenka sets an Open Era record, scoring her 20th consecutive grand slam tiebreak win. The world #1 survives a wobble against Victoria Mboko, giving up a double break lead in the 2nd set before closing it out in the tiebreaker, 7 points to 1.

🔥 She's On a Roll! Once again, Gauff joins some elite company. The 21yo's win over Karolina Muchova makes her the youngest woman to reach grand slam quarterfinals in six consecutive seasons since Martina Hingis (1996-2002) and Venus Williams (1997-2002). Oh! And she's now 41-0 in slam matches when taking the opening set.

🌟 The Most Popular Player in the World? Alexandra Eala opens the WTA 125 Philippine Women's Open as the #2 seed and overwhelming crowd favorite. The 20yo Filipino, ranked #49, drew such massive crowds at the Australian Open that fans were turned away from her 1st round match on woefully undersized Court 6.

"It feels amazing. It's so special to do it, especially here, where it means so much to me to come back and play every year. This was a big goal for me, and I'm just super happy." - Learner Tien on reaching his maiden grand slam quarterfinal ¹

"He played great, super-aggressive. Even when I was making good shots, he was making a better shot back. Didn't find many solutions today on the court, which is rare." - Daniil Medvedev on his loss to Learner Tien ²

"We could literally be friends and laughing 'til the moment we walk on the court. Then in that moment we both want to win and we both are competitors." - Madison Keys on her 4th round match versus Jessica Pegula ³

"I'm just going to try to keep taking care of my side of the net. Obviously she's #1 for a reason and has had so much success at this tournament, but that's what I want. I hope to be able to play her this year." - Iva Jovic on playing Aryna Sabalenka ⁴

"The last two matches I've played I've hit the ball extremely well. I'm super pleased with my level, I feel like I'm doing everything I want on the court." - Alex de Minaur on his form heading into the quarterfinals ⁵

"My history has been tough with my serve, but I thought today was great. I'm really happy with just being able to close it out on my racquet." - Coco Gauff on her serve performance against Karolina Muchova ⁶

ROD LAVER ARENA

Day Session

◆ Jessica Pegula (6) vs. Madison Keys (9) ✨MATCH OF THE DAY!✨

◆ Lorenzo Musetti (5) vs. Taylor Fritz (9)

Night Session

◆ Iga Swiatek (2) vs. Maddison Inglis (Q)

◆ Ben Shelton (8) vs. Casper Ruud (12)

MARGARET COURT ARENA

◆ Elena Rybakina (5) vs. Elise Mertens (21)

◆ Jannik Sinner (2) vs. Luciano Darderi (22)

JOHN CAIN ARENA

◆ Amanda Anisimova (4) vs. Wang Xinyu

¹ Briscomb, Bede. "Tien all grown up after mauling of Medvedev at AO 2026." Australian Open, 25 January 2026. link

² Briscomb, Bede. "Tien all grown up after mauling of Medvedev at AO 2026." Australian Open, 25 January 2026. link

³ Imhoff, Dan. "AO 2026 Day 9 preview: Keys and Pegula to put friendship aside." Australian Open, 25 January 2026. link

⁴ WTA Staff. "Jovic blitzes Putintseva in 53 minutes to reach first grand slam quarterfinal in Melbourne." WTA, 25 January 2026. link

⁵ Goodall, Lee. "'Locked in' De Minaur brushes aside Bublik to set up Alcaraz clash." Australian Open, 25 January 2026. link

⁶ Mansell, Jackson. "Coco makes huge statement with win over Muchova." Australian Open, 25 January 2026. link

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