Extreme heat, breakout performances and brand activations dominated social and news coverage of the 2026 Australian Open, Meltwater reports.
Early data shows that AO 2026 tracked slightly below 2025 in total media mentions due to fewer on-court controversies but compensated with more culturally driven engagement.
Meltwater VP, Australia, New Zealand and Southeast Asia, Ross Candido said “it wasn’t just the tennis driving conversation this year.”
“Fashion moments, off-court storytelling and brand experiences played a huge role in how people engaged with the Open,” he told Mediaweek.
“Haier, Emirates and Kia understood that shift, they showed up in ways that felt culturally relevant rather than purely promotional, and the engagement results speak for themselves.”
Social platforms outperform traditional media
The tournament, which wrapped up last night, has generated more 1.26 million mentions, with X emerging as the most engaging platform, accounting for 56.9% of total mentions and outperforming traditional news channels.
Among the most talked about subjects were Naomi Osaka’s jellyfish-inspired comeback look and Jordan Smith’s ‘One Point Slam’ win.
Coco Gauff’s racket smash after her quarter-final exit generated 10.2K mentions, well above her daily average of 1,590.
Aryna Sabalenka’s selfie with Roger Federer and Rod Laver became the most liked player post of the tournament with 345K likes.
Jannik Sinner leads male player engagement with 5.48 million interactions, followed by Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic.
Among the sponsors getting their brands and messages across are Haier with 157K engagements and a 29.5% share of voice. Emirates are close behind at 21.4%.
Kia surged ahead in Generative AI visibility with 708 mentions, nudging past Rolex, while Nike was the most recognised non-sponsor logo with 13.7K mentions.
Main image: Aryna Sabalenka and Naomi Osaka