It’s barely a week until the 2026 Australian Open begins and once again Alex de Minaur will carry the weight of a nation’s expectation, possibly with the added boost of a career-high ranking.
The 26-year-old from Sydney is currently ranked world No. 6 by the ATP, but a historic new high is within tantalising reach.
De Minaur, who made the quarter finals at Melbourne Park in 2025, would have had his ranking fate in his own hands had Australia qualified for the United Cup semi finals against the USA.
Alas, despite a solid 6-4 4-6 6-4 win over Hubert Hurkacz on Friday night at Ken Roswell Arena, his United Cup run ended with 80 ranking points following Australia’s 2-1 loss to Poland.
MORE: United Cup LIVE: Scores, results, updates, standings
That result means de Minaur must now wait until the semi finals are played later today at the Hong Kong Open.
If Russia’s Andrey Rublev defeats top seed and world no. 7 Lorenzo Musetti in Hong Kong, de Minaur will rise to world No. 5 and enter the Australian Open as the highest ranked Australian men’s player since Lleyton Hewitt in 2006.
However if Musetti prevails, de Minaur will need to wait a little longer for his shot at history.
The last Australian to win an Australian Open singles title was Ash Barty in 2022, while no Australian man has won since Mark Edmondson in 1976.