Nine has finally settled on its new Today pairing.

After months of uncertainty following the departures of Karl Stefanovic and Sarah Abo, the network confirmed last week that Tom Steinfort and Sylvia Jeffreys will take over as the program’s permanent hosts in 2027.

But according to industry sources quoted by Woman’s Day, Nine may have another pairing quietly sitting further down the list.

And it is not a combination many viewers would immediately associate with breakfast television.

It is Todd Woodbridge and Jelena Dokic.

The duo already winning over viewers

Woodbridge and Dokic are hardly newcomers to Australian television.

Both are highly familiar faces through Nine’s sports coverage, particularly tennis, and they have spent years working together on major events.

That relationship was on display again at Nine’s 2027 Upfronts in Sydney, where the pair appeared together as part of the network’s presentation of its upcoming programming and sporting coverage.

Their chemistry is already well established.

They know how to work together live, how to react quickly and how to carry a conversation without making it feel overly rehearsed.

Those qualities are valuable far beyond sport.

And that is exactly where the latest speculation begins.

Could Nine be quietly testing something bigger?

According to the Woman’s Day report, an industry source believes the Upfronts appearance gave Nine an opportunity to see what Woodbridge and Dokic could look like outside their usual sporting roles.

“There’s still a lot of untapped potential there.”

The source suggested that giving the pair more exposure in news and entertainment settings could allow the network to gauge how their chemistry translates beyond sport.

Importantly, Nine has not publicly confirmed that Woodbridge and Dokic are a “Plan B” for Today.

That description comes from an unnamed industry source.

For now, Tom and Sylvia remain the confirmed hosts.

But the idea is intriguing because Nine would already have a pairing with something many television executives spend years trying to create: natural on-camera chemistry.

They have already passed one important test

Breakfast television is live television.

That means hosts need to think quickly, recover from mistakes, handle unexpected moments and move naturally between very different subjects.

Woodbridge and Dokic have already been doing exactly that in sports broadcasting.

They have hosted major tennis events together and have appeared in numerous high-profile Nine productions.

Their partnership also has something that cannot easily be manufactured.

They genuinely seem to enjoy working together.

That rapport has become part of what audiences respond to when they appear on screen.

Why a sports duo could make the leap

At first glance, moving from tennis commentary to breakfast television might seem like a major career jump.

But both presenters already possess skills that overlap with the demands of a morning show.

Woodbridge has years of experience in live broadcasting, interviews and major sporting events after a hugely successful tennis career.

Dokic has built an increasingly prominent second career in television after retiring from professional tennis, becoming a respected commentator and presenter while also developing a strong public profile through her personal story and advocacy work.

Together, they bring live-TV experience, recognition and an established working relationship.

That does not automatically make them breakfast hosts.

But it makes the possibility less far-fetched than it might first appear.

Nine may not need to make a decision yet

The most interesting part of the speculation is that Woodbridge and Dokic would not necessarily need to know anything was being considered.

The Woman’s Day source suggested that if Nine were exploring future options, the network could simply continue giving the pair larger opportunities and watch how audiences respond.

That could mean more Upfronts appearances, entertainment segments, broader network events or opportunities that place them outside the boundaries of sport.

From the presenters’ perspective, those would simply look like expanded roles.

From a network perspective, they could also provide useful information about how the duo works with a broader audience.

Again, that remains speculation rather than a confirmed Nine strategy.

There is already a strong working relationship

The pair’s on-screen partnership has developed over years rather than being assembled overnight.

That history matters.

Audiences are already familiar with their personalities, humour and conversational rhythm.

Nine has also repeatedly paired the two for prominent tennis coverage, meaning viewers have had plenty of opportunities to see how they function together under live broadcasting pressure.

That gives the network something it would not have to build from scratch.

The chemistry is already there.

The question is whether it would survive a very different format.

Today itself is entering a broader reset

The speculation comes at a particularly interesting moment for Nine.

Tom Steinfort and Sylvia Jeffreys were confirmed as the new Today hosts after extensive speculation over who would replace Karl and Sarah. Nine said the decision followed research into breakfast television, viewer behaviour and audience feedback.

The network has also signalled wider changes to Today, including its format, pace and commercial integrations, as part of the 2027 refresh.

That means Nine is not simply changing two names at the desk.

It is reshaping what the program looks like.

And whenever a network is rebuilding a major franchise, future options become more important than ever.

Tom and Sylvia are still the confirmed team

For now, there is no mystery about who has the job.

Nine has officially chosen Tom Steinfort and Sylvia Jeffreys.

Sylvia has been closely associated with Today for almost 15 years and has worked across the program in multiple roles, while Steinfort brings extensive experience from 60 Minutes, 9News and international reporting.

They are the faces who will lead the next era.

Any discussion of Woodbridge and Dokic is therefore about a possible future option, not an announced change.

But Nine has already shown it likes the pairing

That may be the detail worth watching.

Giving Woodbridge and Dokic the Upfronts stage together allowed Nine to place them in front of advertisers and the broader industry in a setting far removed from a tennis court.

That does not prove a Today audition was taking place.

But it does show that the network is comfortable putting them together in a major corporate-facing role.

And if the duo continues appearing in wider entertainment and network events, the speculation is unlikely to disappear.

From centre court to the breakfast desk?

For now, that remains a “what if”.

Tom Steinfort and Sylvia Jeffreys have the confirmed Today roles.

Todd Woodbridge and Jelena Dokic remain one of Nine’s strongest established sports partnerships.

But there is a reason the idea has attracted attention.

They already know how to handle live television.

They already know how to work together.

And unlike a completely unknown pairing, Nine would not be taking a gamble on whether viewers could connect with them.

The real unknown is whether that chemistry — so effective in sport — could carry all the way from centre court to the breakfast desk.

For now, Nine appears to have its new Today team.

But if the network really is thinking a few moves ahead, there may already be another duo quietly waiting in the wings.