The American men’s tennis contingent was spotted enjoying a team dinner in Melbourne on Saturday night ahead of their Australian Open campaigns, with Taylor Fritz later sharing a lighthearted moment from the evening.
Fritz, Ben Shelton, Tommy Paul, Alex Michelsen, Learner Tien, Reilly Opelka, Mackenzie McDonald, Aleksandar Kovacevic, Emilio Nava, and Ethan Quinn were all in attendance, appearing in high spirits before the start of the main draw on Sunday.
The night ended with a familiar tradition among the group, a credit card roulette, a method used to decide who would pay the bill, where each player places their credit card face down, and one card is randomly selected to cover the entire check.
Unluckily for the group’s youngest member, 21-year-old Ethan Quinn was the one whose card was chosen, leaving him to foot the bill for the table.
Quinn, currently ranked world No. 80, is set to open his Australian Open campaign against 23rd seed Tallon Griekspoor on Tuesday, January 20.
He competed in the lead-up events in Brisbane and Adelaide, exiting in the second round of qualifying in Brisbane and the first round of the main draw in Adelaide.
Quinn arrives in Melbourne with a 3–4 career record in Grand Slam matches, having reached the third round of the French Open and the second round of Wimbledon last year. This marks his first main-draw appearance at the Australian Open.
Shelton and Fritz Spearhead 21-Player American Contingent at Australian Open
Shelton enters the Australian Open as the highest-ranked American at world No. 8, with Fritz close behind at No. 9. Shelton has been handed a challenging opening-round matchup against France’s Ugo Humbert, while Fritz is also set to face a French opponent in Valentin Royer.
Other seeded Americans include Tommy Paul, seeded 19th, who will face Aleksandar Kovacevic in an all-American clash. Learner Tien, the 25th seed, is also set for an all-American encounter against Marcos Giron. Brandon Nakashima, seeded 27th, will open his campaign against Botic van de Zandschulp.
Frances Tiafoe, seeded 29th, began his tournament with a straight-sets victory. Emilio Nava also advanced on day one, winning a five-set battle against Kyrien Jacquet. Qualifier Michael Zheng produced one of the shocks of the day, defeating Sebastian Korda in five sets in the third all-American matchup of the opening round.
Zachary Svajda, Jenson Brooksby, and Patrick Kypson were all eliminated on the opening day. In total, three Americans advanced, while four were eliminated on the first day of the tournament.
Read More:
Australian Open 2026: Frances Tiafoe vs Jason Kubler Prediction, Odds & Best Bet
College Sports Network has you covered with the latest news, analysis, insights, and trending stories in tennis, college football, men’s college basketball, women’s college basketball, and college baseball!
