Shuai Zhang vs Taylah Preston Preview & Prediction | 2026 Australian Open | First Round
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Shuai Zhang faces Taylah Preston in the first-round of the Australian Open.
Start date/time:
Venue: Melbourne Park, Melbourne, Australia
Surface: Outdoor hard
How to watch on TV: UK – TNT Sports / USA – ESPN
How to watch online: UK – discovery+ / USA – ESPN+ & Tennis Channel
Tickets: Visit this link for the latest Shuai Zhang vs Taylah Preston ticket information
Shuai Zhang vs Taylah Preston prediction
Shuai Zhang won her first three matches of the year after getting past the qualifying stages in Brisbane and then winning her round one match against Ashlyn Krueger. She put up a strong fight against Elena Rybakina in the second-round, losing 6-3 7-5. She was unable to keep up the momentum at her next event in Adelaide, falling to defeat in the first qualifying stage to Kamilla Rakhimova.
Taylah Preston is ranked outside of the top 200 in the world ranking but is coming into this slam on the back of one of the most impressive tournaments of her young career so far. She won three matches in a row against Jessica Bouzas Maneiro, Rebecca Sramkova and top seed Emma Raducanu without dropping a set, making the semi-finals. She then took the first set against Iva Jovic, but the youngster fought back to win.
The higher-ranked Zhang is the favourite, but Preston cannot be counted out after such a brilliant performance in the last warmup event. They faced each other just two weeks ago in the Brisbane qualifying round, with the Chinese player winning in three sets. This could go the distance once more.
Shuai Zhang vs Taylah Preston tip: Both players to win a set
