The Australian Open Day 2 Upsets

Preceding Events on Day 1

Day 1 provided the buildup: Marta Kostyuk, Ekaterina Alexandrova, and Sebastian Korda lost five sets to Michael Zheng. The energy carried over into Day 2. Over two days, attendance exceeded 200,000, with a twelve percent increase from last year on televised viewership. People thrive on upsets, and that's what sponsors thrive on.

Upset Product of the Day: Géa's Miracle

Arthur Géa became the face of Day 2. The 21-year-old qualifier with a ranking of 198 destroyed Nehečka by not losing any breaks and putting on a tiebreak performance. Géa's qualifiers earned $100,000; this win will earn him an additional $120,000 and raises him in the rankings. Lehečka will lose ATP points from his early exit, and likely lose $500,000 by not being able to earn from a deep run.

Storm Hunter's Local Hero: Australian wild card Hunter, who is ranked No. 120 in the world, beat Bouzas Maneiro in straight sets, with a presence at the Rod Laver Arena drawing a 15% increase in attendance. Hunter will receive $120,000 for this victory and is preparing for his next round

Close Calls: Seeds on the Verge

Sofia Kenin (No. 27) lands in the second round despite being pushed to three sets by Peyton Stearns (former college superstar). There are concerns regarding Kenin since her 2020 Australian Open title, while Stearns' strong showing at Hobart indicated that she could present a tough matchup for Kenin. Although Kenin is moving on, she looks vulnerable.

Felix Auger-Aliassime was challenged by Nuno Borges, although he had the 1–0 head-to-head advantage before the match and fell behind early on. After winning two championships in Adelaide and Montpellier in 2025, and experiencing a slow start at the United Cup, Auger has concerns about himself moving forward. Although Borges was competitive throughout the match, Auger preserved his ranking points.

Emma Navarro survived a tough match against Magda Linette, who was fresh off her successful run at Auckland and Hobart (making the quarterfinals of both events). The semi-final match Navarro played in Adelaide helped to ramp up the interest in her and is worth $120,000 in prize money.

Denis Shapovalov was able to continue his positive momentum from 2025 (winning both Dallas and Los Cabos) by not only surviving his first-round match, but doing it against a game opponent.

Even Though she left it all on the court, Donna Vekic could not take down No. 8 Mirra Andreeva, who came into this tournament hot off her Adelaide victory.

When It Comes to Business Ripples...:

The Australian Open is expected to create over $500 million in revenue before any wow factor-type events may occur during the remainder of the tournament.

Betting Spike:

The Day 2 Parlays of this event are breaking records with extreme levels of activity occurring. For example, Géa at odds of 12.0 has generated millions in winnings. During week one of the tournament, the global handle is predicted to exceed $200 million. In addition, DraftKings and Bet365 have been updating betting lines in real-time and the volatility has resulted in a 25% increase in trading volume.

Corporate Sponsorship Boost:

The sponsors of the AO are all taking advantage of the unexpected possibilities associated with the emergent underdogs. For example, social media clips of these players are generating more than 50 million views. In addition, Audiences are increasing their tune-in and viewing figures, with Nine and the Tennis Channel experiencing an 18% increase when compared to 2023.

Prize Pool: $100 million total: With Géa's performance, the pot has the potential to continue to grow.

The Chaos of Tennis – Upsets in 2026

The tennis world as of 2026 is a very unpredictable place. The depth of men's and women's tennis are at such a high level that as of today (January 7th, 2026), players ranked as low as 198 in the world are now capable of winning Grand Slam titles due to injuries and poor-form dip (while others benefit from these events).

On the female side of the draw, Andreeva has secured her position, while Kenin and Navarro struggled through the early rounds. Iga Swiatek took care of business, but there are not many women in the draw that I would say have a 100% chance of making it to the finals.

On the men's side, all hell broke loose after the first day of play. Lehečka joined the group of players that fell on Day 1. Denis Shapovalov and Felix Aliassime were both tested in their matches. Daniil Medvedev and Jannik Sinner will be facing off against Novak Djokovic later this week.

There is also a crowd element involved with this year's tournament. Eala's fans turned out in droves, bringing in over 15,000 people to see the women's finals on the outer courts.

The Future of the Tournament; More Chaos to Come

Day 3 will see Djokovic and Coco Gauff taking the court to play their respective matches; both are expected to advance to the next round.

Upset alerts:

• Will Borges get revenge against Korda?
• Will Stearns be able to bounce back from his tough Day 1 loss against Eala?

The Economic Impact of the Australian Open on Victoria

The Australian Open contributed over $2 billion to the GDP of Victoria. Fans purchased full-house tickets, while the top 20% of fans spent over $1,000 a piece for hospitality during the tournament. Merchandise sales went up by just over 10% due to fans supporting their heroes.

The Branding and Marketing Lessons From the Brink

The speed at which companies shift their sponsorship strategies is quite remarkable as seen in the case of both Géa and Hunter with Nike and their respective apparel deals for this year's Australian Open. Underdogs create compelling, and shareable stories; therefore, companies are trying to capitalize on the viral nature of these types of stories.

Executives also know that Day 2 of the Australian Open has proven that adapting to a changing environment is crucial. Just like the stock market, the world of tennis provides the same type of opportunities to capitalize on the unpredictability of the favorite players losing and the underdogs outperforming all expectations. Day 2 has proven that the upsets are not just background noise in this year's tournament; they are the major signal from the tournament and the City of Melbourne will continue to provide a great buzz about this tournament and its future.