Laura Robson writes about a hectic start to 2026 that began at the Australian Open in Melbourne, included less than 24 hours at home, and then shifted to working at the Milano Cortina Winter Olympics — where she was blown away by Matt Weston and somehow went 19 days without watching any tennis.
Being back in Australia was lovely. I always stay at my parents’ place, which makes life on the road a lot easier — my mum even did my laundry and made sure everything was ready after long nights, which felt like a proper luxury. More importantly, it was great to be around family and see my niece and nephew away from the tennis bubble.
The tournament itself was a mixed bag weather-wise: scorching sunshine one day and chilly six-degree conditions the day of the men’s final. Classic Melbourne — you really can experience all seasons in a short span.
One of the more memorable moments came before Naomi Osaka’s first-round match. She arrived on Rod Laver Arena in a dramatic green-and-white look Nike let her design — complete with a hat, veil and parasol that looked like something inspired by sea life. It was so unexpected and fun; I much prefer seeing players take a risk and spark conversation than sticking to the same predictable outfit every time. Even Tim Henman’s reaction was priceless.
After the Open I was home for under a day, just long enough to switch bags before heading to Italy. The Winter Games were a completely different pace and I loved it. I caught plenty of curling and the sliding events where I was lucky enough to watch Matt Weston take gold twice. Those runs fly past so fast you barely get time to react, but seeing his family and team celebrate up close — and how dominant he was — was genuinely special.
One of the nicest things about the smaller winter sports is the humility and gratitude of the athletes. They don’t have the ego you sometimes see in bigger sports; they’re just thrilled to be there. That feeling came through in every conversation I had.
I prepared for curling on the flight from Australia with stacks of notes because you never know all the tiny tactical details going in. A few nights, some British curlers came to the arena when they weren’t competing and kindly talked me through strategy and shot choices — they were patient and generous with their time, which made my job much easier.
Having worked at the Paris Olympics in 2024, I can say summer and winter Games feel very different. The winter events are far more spread out geographically, so you spend more time moving between venues, whereas the summer Games are a huge, concentrated spectacle. Both are brilliant in their own way — I really am an Olympics fan.
Believe it or not, I didn’t watch any tennis for 19 days while I was away — I followed results but was totally removed from match coverage. Now I’m back and catching up.
I’ll be part of Sky Sports’ coverage of the Sunshine Double at Indian Wells and Miami. The BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells starts March 4 and will be shown live on Sky Sports, with streaming on NOW and extra analysis and video available through the Sky Sports app.