McCartney Kessler and Jessica Pegula are favored to win the women's doubles match with stronger recent form on hard courts, though specific odds are not yet available for this opening round encounter at the Australian Open with DexWin - Best Odds on Your Favourite Sports.

The match starts at 12:00 AM UTC on January 20, 2026, which corresponds to 11:00 AM AEDT (Australian Eastern Daylight Time) on the same day, following the tournament's standard day session schedule.

The match will be played at Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Australia, home to the Australian Open since 1988, featuring multiple show courts including Rod Laver Arena with 15,000 capacity, John Cain Arena with 10,500 capacity, and Margaret Court Arena with 7,500 capacity.

Pegula and Kessler enter as the favored pairing based on their combined ranking strength and recent hard court success, though opening round predictions in women's doubles are difficult without established head-to-head records between these specific pairings.

No established head-to-head record exists between the McCartney Kessler/Jessica Pegula pairing and the Gabriela Dabrowski/Luisa Stefani pairing, as this represents their first meeting in women's doubles at the Australian Open.