Milan, 15 January (LaPresse) – Jasmine Paolini, ranked 7th in the world, will face a player from the qualifiers in her debut at the 2026 Australian Open. The Tuscan tennis player is projected to face Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka, number 1 seed and world number 1, also in the upper half of the draw, in the quarter-finals. The other Italian player, Elisabetta Cocciaretto, will make her debut against Austria's Julia Grabher, while in the round of 16, she is projected to face Poland's Iga Swiatek. In terms of possible quarter-final match-ups, in addition to Paolini-Sabalenka, the draw has set up a hypothetical Gauff-Andreeva clash in the top half, while in the bottom half there could be Pegula-Anisimova and Rybakina-Swiatek.