‘Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome to the court, from Sydney Australia, world no.111 Jordan Thompson.’
Fast approaching veteran status in 2026, wildcard entrant Jordan Thompson is unlikely to feature when the favourites are being discussed for this year’s Australian Open, and in truth may struggle to go beyond the first week in singles.
But when the 31-year-old steps onto the court to face Argentina’s world no.83 Juan Manuel Cerundolo in the opening round on Monday, he will extend a remarkable record that stretches all the way back to January 2016.
According to ATP stats, the 2026 Australian Open marks Thompson’s 40th consecutive main draw appearance in a Grand Slam tournament, an impressive run of consistency matched by no other active player on the planet.
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Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz can’t touch him (unsurprising given their ages), but nor can the legendary Novak Djokovic, 38.
Thompson’s closest rival is USA star Frances Tiafoe, 27, who will be making his 37th consecutive slam appearance at Melbourne Park next week.
World no. 12 Daniil Medvedev, 29, would have also been on 37 appearances, however he missed Wimbledon in 2022 when Russian athletes were banned due to the ongoing crisis in Ukraine.
Greece’s Stefanos Tsitsipas sits next back on the list with 32—a mark Japan’s Yoshihito Nishioka would most likely have also reached in 2026 before he was forced to retire in the second round of qualifying through injury.
Currently ranked world no.111, Thompson reached a career high ranking of 26 in 2024.
To date his best performances in Melbourne have been second round exits, a fate he’s endured five times including 2024 and 2025.
Thompson has reached the fourth round at Wimbledon and US Open, and won the US Open doubles with countryman Max Purcell in 2024.
Bulgaria’s Grigor Dimitrov, 34, had previously held the record with a whopping 58 consecutive Grand Slams before he was forced to withdraw from last year’s US Open with a pectoral injury, paving the way for Thompson to assume the crown.
The all-time record for consecutive Grand Slam appearances in the open era is held by Spain’s Feliciano López who played 79 consecutive tournaments between the 2002 French and 2022 Australian Opens.
Most Consecutive Men’s Grand Slam Appearances (active players)
Tournaments Played | Player | Streak began |
40 | Jordan Thompson (Australia) | 2016 Australian Open |
37 | Frances Tiafoe (USA) | 2016 US Open |
32 | Stefanos Tsitsipas (Greece) | 2018 Australian Open |
SOURCE: Official media notes provided by the ATP at 2025 US Open, 2026 Australian Open appearances added by AllSportsPeople.