The build-up to the 2026 Australian Open is well underway, and tournament organisers are continuing to fill out the wildcard list.
Six names had already been confirmed, including one that’s already attracting plenty of attention—the daughter of a four-time Grand Slam winner.
That still leaves ten spots open, and there’s already plenty of talk about whether Nick Kyrgios will be offered one of them.
Kyrgios hasn’t been included in the list just yet. But two players who hadn’t previously made it into the main draw have now received invitations.
French duo named as next two wildcards for Australian Open
The French pair were picked up through the event’s reciprocal deal with the French Tennis Federation, which is similar to what the US Open and Wimbledon have in place. This has also led to two Australian players being awarded wildcards at this year’s Roland Garros.
The tournament still has six more wildcards left to award on both sides of the draw, but will be waiting until closer to January before making a final decision. These announcements are usually made after either qualifying events or tournaments within Australia.
Rakotomanga Rajaonah started 2025 ranked outside the top 250, but has moved inside the world’s top 150 after picking up her first title in São Paulo, along with a runner-up finish at Cagliari and semi-final appearance at Saint-Gaudens.
She has climbed over 200 places since the start of the season but still sits outside direct entry for Grand Slams. Rakotomanga Rajaonah did play at last year’s Roland Garros, losing in straight sets during the opening round.
It was her only previous main draw appearance, as she fell short during qualifiers for all three other majors in 2025. She’ll be hoping that next year brings further improvement and another crack into some of those higher-level tournaments.
Jacquet is also coming off his best season on Tour, breaking inside the ATP Top 150 after picking up three Challenger titles and making a run into his first ATP quarterfinal in Metz back in April.
This led him to get his second Grand Slam main draw start at Roland Garros after making an appearance there two years prior.
This again came through another wildcard, given Jacquet’s ranking was just outside qualifying entry at No.151 heading into this year’s tournament. He lost his opening match against Kimmer Coppejans in straight sets.
France’s Grand Slam title drought nears two decades
The 2025 tennis season has seen some bright spots for French players. Lois Boisson made it to the Roland Garros semifinals, and Arthur Rinderknech reached the final in Shanghai.
Despite these strong showings, it’s now been over a decade since a French player last won a Grand Slam singles title.
The last one to do so was Marion Bartoli, who beat Sabine Lisicki in the 2013 Wimbledon final. And for the men’s game, you have to go back even further—Yannick Noah won Roland Garros in 1983.
The most recent French winner of the Australian Open singles title was Mary Pierce in 1995.
This year’s tournament starts on January 18th, with Arthur Rinderknech and Lois Boisson heading into Melbourne as France’s highest-ranked players. On top of that, both Rakotomanga Rajaonah and Jacquet will be hoping to make their mark after being handed main draw wildcards.
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