It may not be for long, but Alex de Minaur has cracked the top five of the ATP world rankings for the first time – if only technically.
Heading into the first tournaments of the 2026 season, Australia’s No.1 player officially ranks a career-high sixth in the world, behind dominant top two Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner, along with Alex Zverev, Novak Djokovic and Felix Auger-Aliassime.
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But on the live rankings Auger-Aliassime has dropped points from 12 months ago, pushing de Minaur into fifth spot.
The last time an Australian man ranked in the top five was Lleyton Hewitt heading into the 2006 Australian Open.
De Minaur will need a strong week and some good fortune to hold onto the place and make it official, however.
The Sydneysider lost his opening match at the United Cup, 6-3 6-3 against Norway’s world No.12 Casper Ruud, and faces Czech world No.18 Jakub Mensik on Tuesday.
A victory would earn him 45 ranking points, due to Mensik’s ranking and the early stage of the tournament, bringing his total to 4125.
De Minaur could then earn up to a maximum of 500 points through the tournament, if he keeps winning against top-ranked opponents and Australia makes the final. He could even face Canada’s Auger-Aliassime in a direct battle for fifth spot in the knockout rounds.
Auger-Aliassime (3990 points) and USA’s Taylor Fritz (3840 points) are also fighting for fifth spot, and have higher-ranked partners making their nations more likely to go deep in the tournament.
Meanwhile Italy’s Lorenzo Musetti, currently sixth on the live rankings, is the top seed at the Hong Kong Open and could reach 4190 points if he wins the tournament.
While reaching the top five would be a great achievement for de Minaur, it would not have a material impact on his Australian Open draw, as players ranked 5th to 8th are grouped together in the draw to face a random player ranked 1st to 4th in their projected quarter-final.
However should one of the top four surprisingly withdraw from the tournament while he ranked fifth, de Minaur would then be given an even more favourable draw at his home slam.
LIVE ATP RANKINGS (As of January 5, 2026)
1. Carlos Alcaraz (12050 points)
2. Jannik Sinner (11500)
3. Alex Zverev (5105)
4. Novak Djokovic (4780)
5. Alex de Minaur (4080)
6. Lorenzo Musetti (3990)
7. Felix Auger-Aliassime (3990)
8. Ben Shelton (3960)
9. Taylor Fritz (3840)
10. Jack Draper (2990)
Special K look towards bright 2026 | 02:02
Meanwhile defending champion Jiri Lehecka outlasted fellow Czech Tomas Machac over three sets Monday to book his place in the second round of the season-opening Brisbane International.
Lehecka, the third seed, saw off his sometime training partner Machac 6-4, 6-7 (5/7), 6-2 in almost two-and-a-half hours on Pat Rafter Arena.
The 24-year-old has won two tournaments in his career, both in Australia.
“The weather and the court conditions here are things that I look forward to,” he said. “There’s no better place to start the season than here.”
It was the Czech pair’s first meeting on tour, but Lehecka said he and Machac knew each other well.
“It’s never easy – I’ve known Tomas since we were kids and we actually practised together before we came here to Brisbane,” he said.
“It was a great match – I think the level was high for a first match of the season for both of us, so I’m super happy for the win.”
Lehecka now plays American Sebastian Korda, who beat Monaco’s Valentin Vacherot 7-6 (7/1), 6-3.
Alex Michelsen survived a tough battle against Australian qualifier James Duckworth 6-7 (4/7), 7-6 (7/2), 6-3 and will next play fellow American Learner Tien.
In the women’s draw, qualifying lucky loser Yulia Putintseva of Kazakhstan beat American Hailey Baptiste 6-2, 6-4 to set up a second-round clash with Ukraine’s Marta Kostyuk.
Chinese qualifier Zhang Shuai, 36, turned back the clock when she beat Ashlyn Krueger of the US 6-4, 5-7, 6-4.
She will now face former champion and world number five Elena Rybakina.
– with AFP
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