# Australian Open 2026 Preview. Qualifying Watch List, Storylines, and Who’s Peaking Early Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/ground-pass-a-tennis-podcast-6637111/australian-open-2026-preview-qualifying-watch-list-storylines-and-who-s-peaking-early Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/ground-pass-a-tennis-podcast-6637111/australian-open-2026-preview-qualifying-watch-list-storylines-and-who-s-peaking-early.md Podcast: [Ground Pass: A Tennis Podcast](https://stenobird.com/podcast/ground-pass-a-tennis-podcast-6637111) Published: 2026-01-12T19:35:00+00:00 Episode link: https://shows.acast.com/ground-pass/episodes/australian-open-2026-preview-qualifying-watch-list-storyline Audio file: https://sphinx.acast.com/p/open/s/651ccfef9b495d0012f9d190/e/69654ce5be0ffc81fb030566/media.mp3 Processing state: not_requested JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/ground-pass-a-tennis-podcast-6637111/episodes/australian-open-2026-preview-qualifying-watch-list-storylines-and-who-s-peaking-early Duration seconds: 5529 ## Resource Qualifying is here, so we’re jumping in early with a full Australian Open preview featuring Lucy Deuce (Black Spin Global). We answer a Ground Pass Hotline question about watching player practices at tournaments, share a listener voice memo from the United Cup in Sydney, and break down the first week of the season across Brisbane, Auckland, Hong Kong, and the United Cup. Plus: who looks ready for a deep run, who might need more reps, the WTA next wave showing up fast, what makes Grand Slam qualifying so brutal, and the names we’re watching this week as the main draw gets close. Links: Lucy Deuce on Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/lucyydeuce?igsh=MWM2MGVrZDhsbjd1cA==  || Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@lucy.deuce?_r=1&_t=ZP-9315gur7Ev0 Brad Stine Interview - https://youtu.be/tcodbF-e3EY?si=-drGONmLmLyMsvs4 Sincaraz from the plane - https://x.com/skysports/status/2010721025051209946?s=46&t=34KFRaMxpc-93mq_1EOI7A Prime france show - https://youtu.be/m8MMXHsO34o?si=36YJQJsvtFMi5UaX Chapters: 00:00 Introduction 03:35 Groundpass Hotline: Viewer Questions 11:19 A Voice Note from the United Cup 15:57 Week 1 of the 2026 Season - United Cup, Brisbane & Auckland 23:31 Who is looking good & who is not in week 1 33:28 The Storylines you might have missed in week 1 40:27 Australian Open Preview 47:08 A Tangent: The Role of Coaches in Tennis 52:42 Key Storylines for the Australian Open 57:55 A Sincaraz Tangent  01:03:30 Understanding the Qualifying Rounds 01:05:43 Spotlight on Qualifying Players 01:16:26 How to Watch the Australian Open 01:19:30 Upcoming Tournaments and Player Highlights 01:23:35 Player of the Fortnight 01:30:03 Outro We have Merch!!!  Ground Pass Shop - https://www.groundpasspodcast.com/ground-pass-shop   💬 Don’t forget… ## Actions - request_transcript: `POST https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/ground-pass-a-tennis-podcast-6637111/episodes/australian-open-2026-preview-qualifying-watch-list-storylines-and-who-s-peaking-early/transcription-requests` — Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode. - read_markdown: `GET https://stenobird.com/podcast/ground-pass-a-tennis-podcast-6637111/australian-open-2026-preview-qualifying-watch-list-storylines-and-who-s-peaking-early.md` — Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource. A page view does not enqueue transcription. Agents should invoke `request_transcript` explicitly when they need this episode processed. ## Transcript Full transcripts are not published on public pages unless there is a clear rights basis.