The Rod Laver Arena crowd was on its feet, but it was Christian Harrison and Neal Skupski who walked away champions of the Australian Open 2026 men’s doubles. The sixth seeds toppled Australia’s Jason Kubler and Marc Polmans 7-6(4), 6-4 in a 1:49 epic, denying the wild cards a dream home win.
Kubler and Polmans staged a heroic recovery from 2-5 in the opener, forcing a tiebreak that had everyone roaring. Yet Harrison and Skupski flipped the script, storming to four straight points for the set. A key service break in the second set’s third game set the tone, and Harrison’s tee ace on match point sealed it.
Their path included a semifinal stunner over Marcel Granollers and Horacio Zeballos—2025’s two-major team—won 6-3, 7-6(7). Kubler aimed for back-to-back Aussie titles after 2023 with Rinky Hijikata (14-3 record at Melbourne). Polmans notched a career-high final, eclipsing his 2017 semis.
Saturday’s women’s final saw Elise Mertens and Shuai Zhang triumph 7-6(4), 6-4 over Anna Danilina and Alexandra Krunic for their ninth Slam doubles as partners in seven events. Friday belonged to mixed doubles defending champs Gabusewicz and Peers, first in 37 years to retain the title.