We may only be a matter of days into 2025, but it is already time for the first Grand Slam of the year. Tennis’ biggest stars have descended on Melbourne Park to compete for an Australian Open title which would kick their new year off in style.
Novak Djokovic is seeking to win a record-extending 11th title in Melbourne and will be doing so with longtime rival Andy Murray by his side after he became the Serbian’s new coach in November.
Last year’s winners — Jannik Sinner and Aryna Sabalenka — will hope to retain the titles they earned this time last year in the the men’s and women’s singles finals, respectively.
Meanwhile, British stars including 2024 US Open semifinalist Jack Draper, Katie Boulter and Emma Raducanu will all be aiming to impress “down under.”
Here’s everything you need to know about the tournament.
Key details
Dates: Sunday, Jan. 12 to Sunday, Jan. 26
Venue: Melbourne Park
Draw: Thursday, Jan. 9 at 3.30 a.m. GMT (2.30 p.m. local time)
How to watch: The Australian Open will be broadcast live on Eurosport in the UK. Subscribers can stream the action online on the Eurosport website or with the discovery+ app. You can also follow live updates on ESPN.
Schedule
Men’s singles bracket | Women’s singles bracket
Schedule for semifinals and championship matches:
Jan. 23
Women’s singles semifinals
Men’s doubles semifinals
Jan. 24
Men’s singles semifinals
Men’s doubles final
Women’s doubles semifinals
Mixed doubles final
Jan. 25
Women’s singles final
Men’s doubles final
Mixed doubles final
Jan. 26
Men’s singles final
Women’s doubles final
Brit watch
Draper is aiming to build on his run to the US Open semifinals, but he will be hoping the hip injury that forced him to skip the opening event of the 2025 ATP season does not stand in his way.
British women’s No. 1 Boulter will be looking to take more strides following her impressive 2024 season in which she won three ATP titles and broke into the top 25 in the world rankings for the first time in her career.
Raducanu’s tournament hopes are harder to judge after she was forced to withdraw from the Auckland Open with injury on Dec. 31. She has begun her season in a frustratingly familiar manner after spending much of the past few years suffering with various injuries that have affected her wrists, ankles and back.
Harriet Dart and Billy Harris require one more win to secure their respective places in the event as they battle through the qualifying rounds.
Top global stars
Djokovic is chasing a record 25th Grand Slam singles title in Melbourne and his new partnership with Murray has added an extra layer of interest to the Serbian’s quest. Djokovic has a love-hate relationship with the Australian Open. Although he has won the Slam a remarkable 10 times, he said ahead of this year’s event that he still experiences trauma whenever he visits Melbourne, three years after he was deported for a breach of Australia’s COVID-19 rules.
Carlos Alcaraz is looking to win the only major that has evaded him in his career so far. The Spaniard has never made it past the quarterfinal stage in Melbourne.
Meanwhile, world No. 1 Jannik Sinner is the tournament’s defending champion and he is looking to prove he can become the sport’s pre-eminent star as it moves beyond its “Big Three” era. The 23-year-old will be playing under the cloud of a possible doping ban after he tested positive for clostebol in March.
Sabalenka has ruled this event over the past couple of years and seems primed to do so again after winning the Brisbane International on Jan. 5. She rallied from a set down against qualifier Polina Kudermetova to sharpen her tilt for a third-straight Australian Open title.
Coco Gauff will look to translate her impressive recent form into a second major of her career, while the always-capable Iga Swiatek will be looking to put her doping case behind her and concentrate on events on-court.
Elsewhere, expect the likes of Jasmine Paolini, Qinwen Zheng and Elena Rybakina to fancy their chances in Melbourne.
Prize money
Winner: $3.5 million (£1.75m)
Runner-up: $1.9m (£950,000)
Semifinals: $1.1m (£550,000)
Quarterfinals: $665,000 (£332,000)
Fourth round: $420,000 (£210,000)
Third round: $290,000 (£145,000)
Second round: $200,000 (£100,000)
First round: $132,000 (£66,000)
Qualifying third round: $72,000 (£36,000)
Qualifying second round: $49,000 (£24,500)
Qualifying first round: $35,000 (£17,500)
Values in AUD. Exchange rates correct as of Jan. 6.
Stats
Emma Raducanu has participated in the Australian Open three times. She reached the Round of 64 on each occasion. Two of her three losses were against unseeded opponents (other was vs. seventh seed Coco Gauff)
Since winning the U.S. Open in 2021, Raducanu has only progressed further than the Round of 64 in a Grand Slam once in eight attempts (Round of 16 at Wimbledon 2023)
Katie Boulter has never progressed further than the Round of 32 at a Grand Slam (2023 US Open and 2023 Wimbledon)
British men have amassed 142 wins all-time in the Australian Open, which ranks 11th among all nationalities in the Slam (most is U.S. men with 1,011 and Australian men at 886)
Stats provided by ESPN Global Research.
Last year’s champions
Sinner won the first Grand Slam title of his career when he beat Daniil Medvedev in last year’s men’s singles final.
The Italian came back from two sets down to win 3-6, 3-6, 6-4, 6-4, 6-3 in a contest that lasted almost four hours.
He knocked out 10-time champion Djokovic in the semifinals to reach the first major final of his career. Sinner followed up his success in Australia with victory in the US Open in September.
Sabalenka justified her tag as tournament favourite when she beat Zheng to retain the women’s singles title in last year’s tournament.
The Belarusian’s 6-3, 6-2 triumph saw her become the first woman to claim back-to-back titles since Victoria Azarenka in 2013.
The 25-year-old matched Sinner’s exploits by winning the US Open. She beat sixth seed Jessica Pegula in straight sets at Flushing Meadows.
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