2026 Australian Open: Victoria Mboko to face Clara Tauson in third round

Canadian Victoria Mboko is moving on to the third round in the women’s singles bracket of the Australian Open after defeating American Caty McNally 6-4, 6-3 in Melbourne on Wednesday.

Here’s what you need to know.

Victoria Mboko vs. Clara Tauson

The 17th-seeded Mboko, from Toronto, will face No. 14 seed Clara Tauson of Denmark in the third round. Tauson is through following a 6-3, 3-6, 7-5 second-round victory over Uzbekistan’s Polina Kudermetova that lasted one hour 53 minutes.

Mboko only needed one hour 32 minutes to dispatch McNally. She finished with an ace, 15 winners and 24 unforced errors. McNally had no aces, 14 winners and 27 unforced errors.

Mboko opened as a -210 favourite for her third-round match on the Australian Open tennis odds, with Tauson listed as a +160 underdog.

Women’s doubles

In women’s doubles action, Ottawa native Gabriela Dabrowski and her Brazlian partner Luisa Stefani defeated Americans Jessica Pegula and McCartney Kessler in the first round.

Dabrowski and Stefani are heavy -1100 favourites for their second-round match against Elsa Jacquemot of France and Emiliana Arango of Colombia, who are +550 underdogs.

It was disappointment, however, for Laval, Que.’s Leyah Fernandez. She and her partner Timea Babos of Hungary were bounced in the first round by American Nicole Melichar-Martinez and Cristina Bucsa of Hungary.

This comes after Fernandez also lost in the first round of the singles draw. Seeded 22nd in the tournament, Fernandez was upset by Janice Tjen, the No. 1 ranked player in Indonesia.