Seventh-seeded Auger-Aliassime forced to retire in first round at Australian Open

MELBOURNE — It’s been a rough start for Canada’s men at the 2026 Australian Open.

A day after Gabriel Diallo of Montreal and Liam Draxl of Newmarket, Ont., lost their opening-round singles matches, Felix Auger-Aliassime was one and done Down Under as well.

Auger-Aliassime, seeded seventh in the major tournament, beat 28-year-old Nuno Borges of Portugal 6-3 in the opener of their best-of-five match on Monday, but then lost 6-4, 6-4 and then retired with the score tied 15-15 in the first game of the fourth set.

The Canadian seemed to struggle with leg cramps through the match.

“I’m OK, but I just started cramping at the start of the third set,” Auger-Aliassime said after. “It became very difficult to be competitive at this level. I tried for a set, but yeah, wasn’t possible today.”

” … I want to be on the court winning. I want to be on the court competing with my opponent. I don’t want to be just standing there like a punching bag. So there’s no point, and you know to move on.”

“I feel for him,” said Borges. “I know how he feels to struggle physically and it is part of tennis. I hope he gets better quickly and back to his best level.”

Borges advances to play Australian wild card Jordan Thompson in the second round.

Qualifier Marina Stakusic of Mississauga, Ont., was trailing Priscilla Hon of Australia 5-3 in the decisive third set on Monday when she opted to retire after two hours of play.

Stakusic won the opening set 6-1, then lost 6-4 forcing a third and deciding set. About two hours into the match she collapsed in a heap near the baseline.

She left the court in a wheelchair after experiencing severe cramps. Hon helped her into the chair and off the court.

“It’s so tough to see, 21 years old, second time she has qualified for a Grand Slam main draw,” Hon said after the match. “It’s so rough. Really concerning moments.

The Canadian finished with two aces, 20 winners, 34 unforced errors and five double faults. Hon had three aces, two double faults, 22 unforced errors and 22 winners.

Seventeenth-seeded Victoria Mboko of Toronto needed only 72 minutes to defeat Emerson Jones of Australia 6-4, 6-1 in the first round of women’s singles.

Mboko finished with two aces, two double faults, 20 unforced errors. She won 77 per cent of her first serve points and 59 per cent of her points on second serve.

The Canadian dominated on net points and return points — 48 per cent to 30 per cent.

Mboko will play American Caty McNally in the next round after McNally dispatched qualifier Himeno Sakatsume of Japan 6-3, 6-1.

Later in the day the 21st-seeded Denis Shapovalov of Richmond Hill, Ont., was scheduled to play Yunchaokete Bu of China.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 18, 2026.