The First Step
Checking in after a booked-and-busy first round at the Australian Open.
MELBOURNE, Australia — I have a couple big interviews coming to Bounces readers later today, but with the first round of the 2026 Australian Open officially in the books, I wanted to take a moment to pause and thank Bounces subscribers, new and old, for whom I am always thankful.
I still have alerts turned on for every new subscriber I get to Bounces, and each chime or vibration throughout the day as new folks roll in never fails to bring a smile to my face.
And there have been a lot of chimes and vibrations lately, I am happy to report: for what I believe is just the second time, on Tuesday Bounces hit the top spot on the daily Substack Sports chart, which tracks new subscribers over a 24-hour cycle.
This is obviously very gratifying, and I hope it can keep going in order to sustain and build on the work I’ve been doing here. It’s not cheap, obviously, to book a three-week trip to Australia, but being on the ground at tournaments is crucial for doing the sort of journalism I want to do here at Bounces, and with your support I want to keep Bounces going and growing—maybe with more writers, photographers, and a much-needed copy editor someday?
Even just as a solo venture it’s been great to see Bounces driving conversation at the Australian Open, particularly my pre-tournament interview with Oleksandra Oliynykova, who fared well in her debut against Madison Keys and was delighted to have many more reporters interested in talking to her afterwards.
The Alexandra Eala story was also big, which was a bit more expected given the topic was the amount of interest on her; I went on BNC in the Philippines to discuss the phenomenon she’s become in tennis.
Doing the Eala and Oliynykova stories on the same day didn’t do much for my early sleep bank, admittedly: I left the grounds on Tuesday morning after 4 a.m., which is an inauspicious start to the event on that front.
For more on all the big first round stories—Oliynykova, Eala, Frances Tiafoe, and Naomi Osaka’s big fashion moment, check out the latest episode of No Challenges Remaining.
Printable PDF Australian Open singles draws, updated through the first round, are available to download here.
For looks at matches to watch on Day 4 of the Australian Open, let’s jump below the paywall. Thanks for reading and subscribing to Bounces, everybody! -Ben
