The Australian Open, the first Grand Slam event of the 2025 season, is scheduled to be held in Melbourne from January 12th to 26th.
Here’s everything you need to know about this year’s tournament:
storyline to follow
Djokovic’s 25th dunk?
Last year marked Serbian Novak Djokovic’s only fourth season without a Grand Slam title since his first at the 2008 Australian Open.
Back at Melbourne Park, Djokovic is expected to win his 25th Grand Slam title and surpass Margaret Court’s record to become the player with the most Grand Slam titles in history.
And Australia is the perfect place for the Serbian to achieve this feat. If one looks closely at his sparkling career numbers, Djokovic has been at his best in Australia. He has won this Grand Slam 10 times, the most by a single player in this tournament.
Additionally, former player and three-time Grand Slam champion Andy Murray will don the coaching hat at his side. This will be the first major tournament where tennis fans will learn whether Djokovic’s decision to use one of his biggest rivals, the Scot, as his tactician is valid.
Sabalenka expected to win three consecutive titles
Aryna Sabalenka has a chance to win her third consecutive Australian Open title and become the first woman to do so since Martina Hingis (1997-99). It was in Melbourne that the Belarusian powerhouse began her tryst with winning a Grand Slam.
READ | Sabalenka abandons title defense mentality at Australian Open
As early as 2023, she defeated Elena Rybakina in a thrilling three-set match, and last year she defeated Chinese rising star Zheng Qinwen in straight sets to defend her title.
Sabalenka’s title defense should start off easy as she faces former U.S. Open champion Sloane Stephens, whose best performance in Australia came when the U.S. reached the semifinals in 2013. of.
Rafael Nadal’s first Grand Slam since retirement
It will be the first Grand Slam tournament without “King of Clay” Rafael Nadal, who hung up his racket after last year’s Davis Cup final.
Nadal also won two Australian Grand Slams while dominating the French Open. The first title came in 2009, when he defeated Roger Federer, and the second came 13 years later, when the Spaniard beat Daniil Medvedev in the final in five thrilling sets (Daniil Medvedev).
How will Swiatek, a sinner affected by doping issues, fare?
Italian duo Jannik Sinner and Pole Iga Swiatek will be under scrutiny after coming under the scanner and testing positive for banned substances.
It began when the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) announced that the 23-year-old Italian, who won his first Grand Slam title in Melbourne, failed two doping tests last March. However, he was not suspended and was allowed to continue playing. He eventually won the U.S. Open.
ITIA revealed that Sinner was allowed to compete because an independent tribunal said he had “no fault or negligence” in the way the anabolic steroids that led to the positive test entered his body. WADA is appealing the decision and a hearing in the case will be held in April.
Swiatek, on the other hand, withdrew from the WTA season-ending Asia Tour in September 2024, citing “personal issues.” It was later revealed that Swiatek had been temporarily suspended after testing positive for a banned heart drug.
Alcaraz chases career Grand Slam
21-year-old Spanish player Carlos Alcaraz is about to make history. Alcaraz could complete the career Grand Slam by becoming the youngest player ever to win at least one of all four majors. The record currently belongs to Nadal, who achieved the feat when he won the U.S. Open in 2010 at the age of 24.
However, it will be a huge challenge for Alcaraz as he has never made it past the quarter-finals in Melbourne.
What happened last year?
Italy’s Yannik Sinner (left) and Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka (right) win the singles title at this year’s Australian Open in Melbourne. |Photo credit: Getty Images
Italy’s Yannick Sinner (left) and Belarus’s Aryna Sabalenka (right) win the singles title at this year’s Australian Open in Melbourne. |Photo credit: Getty Images
In men’s singles, Sinner won his first Grand Slam title at Melbourne Park last year when the youngster staged a thrilling five-set comeback victory over the experienced Medvedev in the final.
In women’s singles, Sabalenka defeated Zheng Zhi in straight sets and won her second Australian Open championship.
lottery
Men’s singles
Defending champion Janik Sinner will begin his title defense against Chile’s Nicolas Jarry, while ten-time Australian Open champion Novak Djokovic will take on rising American star Nishish Basavareddy , the latter received a wild card.
Third-seeded Spanish player Carlos Alcaraz, who aims to complete a career Grand Slam, will face Kazakhstan’s Alexander Shevchenko in the first round.
Australian Open 2025 complete men’s singles draw
Women’s singles
World number one Aryna Sabalenka looks to win her third consecutive title in Australia when she takes on former US Open champion Sloane Stephens.
World number two Iga Swiatek will face Czech Katrina Siniakova in the first round, while third seed and former US Open champion Coco Gauff will face compatriot and former Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin.
Australian Open 2025 complete women’s singles draw
bonus
The total prize money for this year’s Australian Open is AU$96.5 million, an increase of nearly 12% over last year. The men’s and women’s singles champions will each receive A$3.5 million.
Live information
In India, viewers will be able to watch the Australian Open live on television. sony sports network and broadcast the game live on Sony Liv platform.
trophy
The men’s singles championship trophy is called the Norman Brooks Challenge Cup, named after Australian tennis great Sir Norman Everard Brooks. He won three Grand Slam titles during his career: Wimbledon in 1907 and 1914 and the Australian Championship in 1911. He was also a member of the U.S. Davis Cup team, which won the title six times. After his retirement, Brooks continued to serve as president of the LTAA.
The women’s singles championship trophy is known as the Daphne Ackhurst Memorial Cup, named after the winners of the 1925-26 and 1928-30 championships. Akhurst was inducted into the Australian Tennis Hall of Fame on Australia Day (26 January) 2006. She was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 2013.
Most successful players at the Australian Open (since 1969):
men
Novak Djokovic: 10 titles (2008, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2015, 2016, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2023)
Roger Federer: 6 titles (2004, 2006, 2007, 2010, 2017, 2018)
Andre Agassi: 4 titles (1995, 2000, 2001, 2003)
Mats Wilander: 3-time champion (1983, 1984, 1988)
female
Serena Williams: 7 titles (2003, 2005, 2007, 2009, 2010, 2015, 2017)
Margaret Court: 4x Champion (1969, 1970, 1971, 1973)
Evonne Goolagong: 4 titles (1974, 1975, 1976, 1977)
Monica Seles: 4 times winner (1991, 1992, 1993, 1996)
Steffi Graf: 4 times champion (1988, 1989, 1990, 1994)
