ATP Tour

Harrison/Skupski lift Australian Open trophy in first major as a team

Christian Harrison and Neal Skupski did not wait long to add a milestone moment to their fledgling partnership.

Competing in just their second tour-level event together, the American-British duo defeated home favourites Jason Kubler and Marc Polmans 7-6(4), 6-4 to claim the trophy Saturday at the Australian Open. Harrison and Skupski, who made their team debut in Adelaide just two weeks ago, held their nerve at key moments in front of a raucous afternoon crowd inside Rod Laver Arena to earn a one-hour, 49-minute championship-match triumph.

There were emotional scenes between two sets of brothers after match point. Harrison celebrated securing his maiden major title with his brother Ryan Harrison, who was courtside. Meanwhile former No. 1 in the PIF ATP Doubles Rankings Skupski, whose sole previous Grand Slam title came at Wimbledon in 2023, embraced his own brother and coach, Ken Skupski.

All the emotions 🤩@charrison94 & @nealskupski are your 2026 Australian Open Doubles Champions!

They dismissed Kubler/Polmans 7-6(4), 6-4 en route to the title.@AustralianOpen | #AO26 pic.twitter.com/G9IDvlwX1Y

— ATP Tour (@atptour) January 31, 2026

“It's obviously nice to get another Grand Slam,” said Skupski in the pair's post-match press conference. “I was very close last year at the US Open and lost narrowly in the French. I look back on last year and kind of went over to see where it went wrong in the moments, and I learned from it.

“Christian has given me a new lease of life this year. We started obviously last week in Adelaide. He came to Baton Rouge for a week of training in December, which was amazing to get on court with him and get to know him a little bit more. It all feels well worth it now, picking up this trophy."

Harrison said: “Unreal experience. This place is unreal to play. The crowds are incredible. For me, though, it was just simple. Just focused on just enjoying the moment with my partner. He brings a lot of experience. His level is just so high, and it really felt easy for me to just play my best tennis. So credit to him.”

Wild card pairing Kubler and Polmans battled admirably throughout the final, and they delighted the home fans by rallying from 2-5 in the opening set to force a tie-break. Yet the momentum of the match shifted dramatically after Harrison and Skupski won four consecutive points from 3/4 to move a set ahead.

The sixth-seeded Harrison and Skupski built on that tie-break success by crucially breaking serve in the third game of the second set, and they sealed victory on their second match point after Harrison fired an ace down the T.

That finish reflected how precise serving formed the foundation to Harrison and Skupski’s final victory. The duo won 80 per cent (43/54) of points behind their first serves, according to Infosys Stats.