The list of the junior singles main draw for the 2026 Australian Open is out. India’s Maaya Rajeshwaran and Arnav Paparkar have made direct entry into their respective categories according to the list published on December 22, 2025. The annual tournament is set to begin from January 12 to February 1.
Ranked no. 24 in the list, Maaya will be making her debut in the junior’s event, competing in the girls’ singles main draw. The 16-year-old has already made her debut at Wimbledon, Roland Garros, and the US Open. Her addition in the Australian Open 2026 completes her Grand Slam participation.
Currently ranked no. 40, she is among the few Indian females to be selected among the top-ranked players like Alena Kovackova of the Czech Republic. The event also highlights players from France, China, the United States, and Germany.
Led by France’s Yannick Theodor Alexandrescou, and other notable names like Jack Kennedy, Luis Guto Miguel, and Keaton Hance, Arnav is placed at no. 44 in the list of men’s junior singles main draw.
Maaya Rajeshwaran’s career achievements
Hailing from Tamil Nadu, Maaya Rajeshwaran has had a notable professional career, making her mark as a junior tennis player. In the 2023 season, she won five titles including four in Junior 60s and one in Junior 100. The same year, she earned her chance to be part of the Australia Open in the U-14 category.
Later in 2024, Maaya made her junior Grand Slam debut in Melbourne. In the first round of the qualifiers, she got knocked out by Germany’s Sonja Zhenikhova. In the Senior National Championship finals that same year, the youngster finished in third place after defeating Vaidehee Chaudhari. She had previously won over established players like Riya Bhatia and others. In 2024, she made her senior debut in the ITF W15 tournament held in Egypt.
In the 2025 season, Maaya won a Junior 300 title in Delhi. Her victory made her entry into the top 60 of the Junior ITF rankings, followed by a spot in the junior Grand Slam.
Thus, the addition of Maaya and Arnav in the 2026 Australian Open junior main draws event highlights India’s growing young and emerging talents like them. The recent years has seen an increase in participation by junior’s tennis players in the ITF event and access to compete in the international stage.
