A mixed opening day for the Italians at the 2026 Australian Open. Jasmine Paolini gets off to the best possible start, while Flavio Cobolli bows out immediately in Melbourne.The Italian number one easily overpowered Aliaksandra Sasnovich, winning 6-1, 6-2, to move to the second round of the Australian Grand Slam. Paolini, ranked seventh and seeded, thus officially marked her seventh consecutive appearance in the main draw. Following first-round eliminations between 2020 and 2023, she advanced to the round of 16 in 2024, whereas last year she was defeated in the third round by Svitolina. In her next match, she will face either Slovenian Veronika Erjavec or Polish Magdalena Frech. Flavio Cobolli, on the other hand, made a poor debut, losing to Arthur Fery 7-6(1), 6-4, 6-1. The Italian reportedly had digestive problems, which hindered his performance. Carlos Alcaraz advanced as expected: the world number one defeated Australian Adam Walton in three sets, 6-3, 7-6, 6-2, to advance to the second round. "Overcoming obstacles is particularly crucial in the later stages", remarked the Spaniard, who is scheduled to face German Yannick Hanfmann on Wednesday.