Alcaraz, Sinner, Djokovic, Shelton lead the 2026 Australian Open men's field

A look at some of the men to watch at the Australian Open, which starts at Melbourne Park on Sunday (Saturday night EST), with money-line odds via BetMGM Sportsbook:

Seeded: 1

Career-Best Ranking: 1

Country: Spain

Age: 22

Career Titles: 24

Grand Slam Titles: 6 — French Open (2: 2024, 2025), Wimbledon (2: 2023, 2024), U.S. Open (2: 2022, 2025)

Last 5 Australian Opens: 2025-Lost in Quarterfinals, 2024-QF, 2023-Did Not Play, 2022-3rd, 2021-2nd

Aces: Trying to win his first title at Melbourne Park to become the youngest man to complete a career Grand Slam. ... Has two trophies from each of the other three major tournaments but never past the quarterfinals in Australia. ... Recently split from longtime coach Juan Carlos Ferrero and is sticking with his other coach, Samuel Lopez, who reconstructed Alcaraz's service motion. ... 6-1 in major finals.

He Said It: “Obviously, it is important to start strong and show all the rest of the players that you are strong and you are playing well and you did an important preseason and that can show them, ‘OK, I’m ready to play a really good season.’”

Read All About It: Carlos Alcaraz's variety allows him to adapt from match to match

Odds Are:+150

Seeded: 2

Career-Best Ranking: 1

Country: Italy

Age: 24

Career Titles: 24

Grand Slam Titles: 4 — Australian Open (2: 2024, 2025), U.S. Open (1: 2024), Wimbledon (1: 2025)

Last 5 Australian Opens: 2025-Won Championship, 2024-W, 2023-4th, 2022-QF, 2021-1st

Aces: Reached the finals at each of the last five Grand Slam tournaments, winning three, including a year ago in Australia, where he was the champion for the second consecutive year. ... Since the start of 2024, Sinner is 2-7 against Alcaraz and 129-5 — a winning percentage of .963 — against everyone else. ... The Australian Open is his first event of 2026.

He Said It: “I’m going to aim to … be a bit more unpredictable as a player, because I think that’s what I have to do.”

Read All About It: Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz have split the past eight Grand Slam titles

Odds Are: +100

Seeded: 4

Career-Best Ranking: 1

Country: Serbia

Age: 38

Career Titles: 101

Grand Slam Titles: 24 — Australian Open (10: 2008, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2015, 2016, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2023), French Open (3: 2016, 2021, 2023), Wimbledon (7: 2011, 2014, 2015, 2018, 2019, 2021, 2022), U.S. Open (4: 2011, 2015, 2018, 2023)

Last 5 Australian Opens: 2025-SF, 2024-SF, 2023-W, 2022-DNP, 2021-W

Aces: Still seeking to become the first player in tennis history with 25 Grand Slam singles trophies. ... His most recent major title came at the 2023 U.S. Open, the last time a man other than Sinner or Alcaraz won a major. ... In 2025, he reached the semifinals at all four Slams; in Australia, he was booed when he quit after one set in that round because of a torn hamstring. ... Withdrew from a tune-up event in Adelaide this month.

He Said It: “I can do only as much as I can do. Yeah, it will be very difficult for me, in the future, to overcome the hurdle of Sinner-Alcaraz in the best-of-five at the Grand Slams.”

Read All About It: Novak Djokovic vows not to give up on Grand Slam success

Odds Are: +1000

Seeded: 8

Career-Best Ranking: 5

Country: United States

Age: 23

Career Titles: 3

Grand Slam Titles: Zero — Best: Semifinals, Australian Open (2025), U.S. Open (2023)

Last 5 Australian Opens: 2025-SF, 2024-3rd, 2023-QF, 2022-DNP, 2021-DNP

Aces: A big-serving left-hander who is at his most dangerous on hard courts. ... In Australia last year, made it to the semifinals before losing to eventual champion Sinner. ... Shelton criticized some of the questions and comments made by post-match TV interviewers at the Australian Open. Made his top 10 debut last June. ... Stopped playing at the U.S. Open because of an injured left shoulder. ... Reached Week 2 in six of his 13 career Grand Slam tournaments.

He Said It: “The media will keep, probably, asking questions and debating until (an American man wins a major title). I can’t wait for that to happen. Then we can kind of move on to a different question.”

Read All About It: Ben Shelton criticizes TV interviewers at the Australian Open

Odds Are: +1600

Seeded: 9

Career-Best Ranking: 4

Country: United States

Age: 28

Career Titles: 10

Grand Slam Titles: Zero — Best: Runner-Up, U.S. Open (2024)

Last 5 Australian Opens: 2025-3rd, 2024-QF, 2023-2nd, 2022-4th, 2021-3rd

Aces: Still dealing with knee issues that bothered him last season. ... Led the ATP Tour in total aces in 2025 with more than 850 and averaged 11.7 per match. ... Has come the closest of any U.S. man to getting the first Grand Slam singles title since Andy Roddick's at the 2003 U.S. Open, making it to the final in New York in 2024 before losing to Sinner. ... Reached his second major semifinal at Wimbledon last season before losing to Alcaraz.

He Said It: “Last year was probably my best serving year, for sure. I felt like my serve has kept improving.”

Read All About It: American men have been getting closer to winning a major title

Odds Are: +2200

Ranked: 139 (Not Seeded)

Career-Best Ranking: 3

Country: Switzerland

Age: 40

Career Titles: 16

Grand Slam Titles: 3 — Australian Open (2014), French Open (2015), U.S. Open (2016)

Last 5 Australian Opens: 2025-1st, 2024-1st, 2023-1st, 2022-DNP, 2021-2nd

Aces: Has said this will be his final season before retirement. ... Each of his three Grand Slam titles, including at the 2014 Australian Open, came via victories over the No. 1-ranked player in the final. ... Will be playing in the Australian Open for the 20th time but hasn't won a match there since 2021. ... His career was interrupted by operations on both knees and on his left foot.

He Said It: “After more than 20 years on tour, of course, it’s going to be really special playing all those tournaments that I play so many times for one last time.”

Read All About It: Stan Wawrinka elbowed his way into the top of tennis with 3 Slam titles

Odds Are: Not Listed

Stan Wawrinka of Switzerland hits a forehand to Hubert Hurkacz of Poland during their final match at the United Cup tennis tournament in Sydney, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Rick Rycroft)

Taylor Fritz of the U.S. hits a forehand to Hubert Hurkacz of Poland during their semifinal match at the United Cup tennis tournament in Sydney, Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Rick Rycroft)

FILE - Ben Shelton of the U.S. plays a forehand return to Jannik Sinner of Italy during their semifinal match at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Jan. 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup, File)

FILE - Novak Djokovic of Serbia plays a shot against Lorenzo Musetti of Italy during the ATP 250 tennis tournament final match, in Athens, Greece, Nov. 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Yorgos Karahalis, File)

Italy's Jannik Sinner hits a backhand to Spain's Carlos Alcaraz during an exhibition tennis match in Incheon, South Korea, Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026. (Shin Jun-hee/Yonhap via AP)

Spain's Carlos Alcaraz serves to Italy's Jannik Sinner during an exhibition tennis match in Incheon, South Korea, Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026. (Shin Jun-hee/Yonhap via AP)

HELSINGBORG, Sweden (AP) — NATO allies and defense officials expressed bewilderment Friday at U.S. President Donald Trump’s announcement that he would send 5,000 U.S. troops to Poland just weeks after ordering the same number of forces pulled out of Europe.

The apparent change of mind came after weeks of statements from Trump and his administration about reducing — not increasing — the U.S. military footprint in Europe. Trump's initial order set off a flurry of action among military commanders and left allies already doubtful about America's commitment to Europe's security to ponder what forces they might have to backfill on NATO's eastern flank with Russia and Ukraine.

Earlier this month, the Trump administration said it was reducing levels in Europe by about 5,000 troops, and U.S. officials confirmed about 4,000 service members were no longer rotating into Poland from Germany. The dispatch to Germany of U.S. personnel trained to fire long-range missiles was also halted.

But in a post on Truth Social on Thursday, Trump said he would now send "an additional 5,000 Troops to Poland,” citing his strong ties with Polish President Karol Nawrocki, whom Trump endorsed in elections last year.

“It is confusing indeed, and not always easy to navigate,” Swedish Foreign Minister Maria Malmer Stenergard told reporters Friday at a meeting she was hosting of her NATO counterparts, including U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

Ministers from the Netherlands and Norway were sanguine about Trump’s latest move, as was Latvian Foreign Minister Baiba Braže, who said allies knew the U.S. troop “posture was being reconsidered, and now there is no change of posture. For now.”

U.S. defense officials also expressed confusion. “We just spent the better part of two weeks reacting to the first announcement. We don’t know what this means either,” said one of two officials who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive military matters.

But Rubio said Washington’s allies understand that changes in the U.S. troop presence in Europe will come as the Trump administration reevaluates its force needs. “I think there’s a broad recognition that there are going to be eventually less U.S. troops in Europe than there has historically been for a variety of reasons,” he said.

The latest surprise came despite a U.S. pledge to coordinate troop deployments, including one from NATO’s top military officer, U.S. Lt. Gen. Alex Grynkewich, on Wednesday.

Trump's initial announcement that he would withdraw troops came as he fumed over remarks by German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who said that the U.S. was being “humiliated” by the Iranian leadership and criticized what he called a lack of strategy in that war.

Trump told reporters that the U.S. would be cutting even more than 5,000 and also announced new tariffs on European cars. Germany is the continent’s biggest auto producer.

Rubio insisted that Trump’s decision “is not a punitive thing. It’s just something that’s ongoing.”

About 80,000 U.S. troops are stationed in Europe. The Pentagon is required to keep at least 76,000 troops and major equipment on the continent unless NATO allies are consulted and there is a determination that such a withdrawal is in U.S. interests.

The withdrawal of 5,000 troops might drop numbers below that limit.

But Trump's latest post suggests that troop numbers in Europe would not change. Polish Foreign Minister Radek Sikorski welcomed the decision to send more forces to his country, saying it ensures that “the presence of American troops in Poland will be maintained more or less at previous levels.”

NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte also welcomed the move. On Thursday, before Trump took to Truth Social again, Rutte had underlined that it was important for Europe to take care of its own security. “We have a process in place. This is normal business,” he told reporters.

At NATO headquarters in Brussels, meanwhile, U.S. officials briefed the allies on the Pentagon's aims for its commitments to the NATO Force Model, which involves contingency planning for Europe’s defense in the event of serious security concerns. It was widely expected that a further reduction of U.S. forces would be coming.

Asked whether any cuts were announced, Rutte said: “I’m afraid it’s much more complicated than that.” He said the procedure “is highly classified” and declined to give details.

Rubio played down concerns about a shift in U.S. force levels in Europe, saying: "Every country has to constantly reevaluate what their needs are, what their commitments are around the world, and how to properly structure that.”

Cook reported from Brussels. Associated Press writer Emma Burrows in London contributed.

United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio speaks with journalists during a meeting of NATO foreign ministers in Helsingborg, Sweden, Friday, May 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson, Pool)

United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio, front second left, and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, front left, speak with each other during a group photo at a meeting of NATO foreign ministers in Helsingborg, Sweden, Friday, May 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson, Pool)

United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio, left, and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte look at each other as they deliver a statement during a meeting of NATO foreign ministers in Helsingborg, Sweden, Friday, May 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson, Pool)

Latvian Foreign Minister Baiba Braže speaks at the doorstep of the NATO foreign ministers' meeting at Sea U in Helsingborg, Sweden, Friday, May 22, 2026. (Johan Nilsson/TT News Agency via AP)

United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio, left, and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte deliver a statement during a meeting of NATO foreign ministers in Helsingborg, Sweden, Friday, May 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson, Pool)

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte speaks to media at the NATO Foreign Ministers' meeting in Helsingborg, Sweden, Friday, May 22, 2026. (Johan Nilsson/TT News Agency via AP)

Secretary of State Marco Rubio arrives with his wife Jeanette at Malmo Airport, Friday, May 22, 2026, in Malmo-Sturup, Sweden, ahead of a NATO foreign ministers meeting. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson, Pool)

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, second from left, shakes hands with Prime Minister of Sweden Ulf Kristersson, as he is greeted by King Carl Gustaf of Sweden, Queen Silvia of Sweden and Minister for Foreign Affairs of Sweden Maria Malmer Stenergard, right, before a dinner at Sofiero Castle in Helsingborg, Sweden, Thursday May 21 2026. (Johan Nilsson/TT News Agency via AP)

Swedish Foreign Minister Maria Malmer Stenergard speaks to media at the NATO Foreign Ministers' meeting in Helsingborg, Sweden, Friday, May 22, 2026. (Johan Nilsson/TT News Agency via AP)