Venus Williams, Coco Gauff in line for 2nd-round Australian Open clash

American superstars young and old could clash in the second round of the Australian Open after the draw was made Thursday in Melbourne.

Coco Gauff, 21, and Venus Williams, 45, were set on a collision course.

Williams, ranked 576th in the world, received a wild card so she can appear at the Australian Open for the first time since 2021. Her first-round foe will be 68th-ranked Olga Danilovic of Serbia.

Although she has seven career major championships, Williams has never won the Australian Open. Her best results in Melbourne were final-round appearances in 2003 and 2017, when she lost to her sister Serena Williams each time.

Gauff, who is seeded third, posted her best Australian Open performance in 2024, when she reached the semifinals. The two-time major champion will oppose No. 91 Kamilla Rakhimova of Uzbekistan in the first round.

Another U.S. player, ninth-seeded Madison Keys, will open the defense of her first Grand Slam championship by facing 90th-ranked Oleksandra Oliynykova of Ukraine. Keys' section of the draw features a possible third-round match against No. 22 Leylah Fernandez of Canada and a potential fourth-round match vs. No. 6 Jessica Pegula of the United States.

Top-seeded Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus, the runner-up to Keys in 2025, will open vs. No. 118 Tiantsoa Rakotomanga Rajaonah of France.

On the men's side, two-time defending champion Jannik Sinner of Italy, seeded second, begins the event by opposing No. 93 Hugo Gaston of France.

Top-seeded Carlos Alcaraz of Spain will begin against a home-country favorite as he meets No. 80 Adam Walton of Australia.

Fourth-seeded Novak Djokovic, a 10-time Australian Open champion, faces No. 71 Pedro Martinez of Spain in the first round. Djokovic is on Sinner's half of the draw, setting up a possible semifinal -- if each wins his first five matches.

--Field Level Media