“I’ve had time to relax and time to train for the new season. I want to make sure I’m in my best condition. I always want to start off well here,” he added.
“It’s no secret the AO is a tournament I want to do well at”
De Minaur will be the central figure for Australia at the season-opening mixed-team event, which features both ATP and WTA players. The hosts were drawn into Group D alongside Czechia—led by Jakub Mensik and Barbora Krejcikova—and Norway, with Casper Ruud and Malene Helgo as their singles players.
The world No. 6 arrives confident and mentally refreshed after a brief off-season break. “What I’ve found over the years, for me to bring my best tennis, I need to be able to switch off when I’m off the court,” De Minaur explained. “As soon as I leave the court, I try to switch off, go for nice dinners, get a coffee, go for a wander. That’s my way of making sure I don’t burn out.”
“For me, that helps make sure that when I step on court, I’m ready to go. It’s no secret that the Australian Open is a tournament I want to do well at and play my best tennis at,” he added.
At the first Grand Slam of the year, De Minaur will be seeded sixth and will look to defend the quarterfinal run he achieved in 2025—his best result in Melbourne so far. That campaign ended with a loss to world No. 1 and eventual champion Jannik Sinner. Even so, his performance marked a milestone for Australian tennis, with no local player having reached the men’s singles quarterfinals since 2015, when a 19-year-old Nick Kyrgios fell to eventual champion Andy Murray.
“The Australian fans are passionate; they are the best in the world,” De Minaur said at the airport. “For any of the Aussies competing, there’s nothing we want to do more than play well in front of our home fans.” He also underlined his long-term progress: “There’s been a real effort over the last few years to keep getting the best out of myself. I’ve been improving every year, so I’m hoping to have a great summer.”
De Minaur targets Sinner and Alcaraz in 2026
“I’ve played some very close matches over the years with both of them, and you feel like you’re getting closer and closer,” he said. “You have to work on your game, find new weapons. For me, it’s finding different ways to hurt these players. It might be being ready to take more risks or being a disruptor.”
“It’s a couple of things here and there that we’ve been trying to work towards, in hopes of taking that next step,” De Minaur added. “There’s no other way than just getting better.”