Australian Open 2026: Only 6 French Players Reach Second Round, Worst French Start in 35 Years

French Tennis Hits Low at Australian Open with Worst First-Round Performance Since 1991, But Muller, Géa, and Jacquemot Deliver Thrilling Upsets

© AFP

Adrien Guyot

le 20/01/2026 à 14h49

2 min to read

Gea Arthur Gracheva Varvara Halys Quentin Jacquemot Elsa Moutet Corentin Muller Alexandre Open d'Australie

This Tuesday marked the end of the first round of the Australian Open in both singles draws. After the first three days of competition in Melbourne, the French tally is not very good.

Out of the 18 French players entered, only a third managed to advance past the first round. In the men's draw, Corentin Moutet, Arthur Géa, Quentin Halys, and Alexandre Muller will compete in the second round, as will Elsa Jacquemot and Varvara Gracheva in the women's draw.

Some of them even secured impressive victories: Muller, with his back against the wall multiple times, came back to defeat Alexei Popyrin, while Géa, playing his first main-draw match at a Grand Slam, eliminated seeded player Jiri Lehecka in three quick sets.

For her part, Elsa Jacquemot staged a comeback against Marta Kostyuk after more than 3 hours and 30 minutes of battle, even though the Ukrainian had served for the match and held a match point in the second set.

Worst French First-Round Performance at the Australian Open in the 21st Century

However, with only six French representatives in the second round, France has recorded its worst result at the Australian Open since 1991. That year, only six had successfully made their debut (Forget and Fleurian in the men's, Dechaume, Halard, Tanvier, and Quentrec in the women's).

In the 21st century, the worst score until now was 8, recorded in the 2002, 2018, and 2021 seasons, as reported by L'Équipe in recent hours. A stark contrast compared to 2024. Two years ago, 14 were competing in the second round in Melbourne.

To reach the round of 16, the six remaining French players now know their opponents: Muller will face Zverev, Géa will take on Wawrinka, while Halys and Moutet will play against Medvedev and Zheng, respectively. In the women's draw, Jacquemot will need to defeat Putintseva, and Gracheva has drawn Rybakina.