Australian Open 2025: The Draw Is Set. Let’s Play!

Aryna Sabalenka, Jannik Sinner, Australian Open
Aryna Sabalenka and Jannik Sinner (photo: Tennis Australia/Fiona Hamilton)

MELBOURNE/WASHINGTON, January 9, 2025 (by Michael Dickens)

The official draw for Australian Open 2025, which begins on January 12 in Melbourne, took place on the steps of Margaret Court Arena Thursday afternoon. Playing true to their rankings, defending champions Jannik Sinner of Italy and two-time winner Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus – both currently ranked World No. 1 – were placed in their respective No. 1 seed positions in the top half of the men’s and women’s singles brackets for the first Grand Slam event of the year, which begins for the second straight year on a Sunday.

Then, the No. 2 seeds, Alexander Zverev of Germany and Iva Swiatek of Poland, were slotted in the bottom half of the men’s and women’s brackets.

What remained a mystery for all that soon was solved was this: Which halves of the draw would the No. 3 seeds, Carlos Alcaraz of Spain and Coco Gauff of the United States, and the No. 4 seeds, Taylor Fritz of the United States and Jasmine Paolini of Italy, respectively be placed? As it happened, Alcaraz was placed in the lower half and will open with Alexander Shevchenko of Kazakhstan, while Fritz is in the upper half and drew fellow American Jenson Brooksby. Meanwhile, Gauff is in the upper half and will start against 2020 Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin of the United States, while Paolini was placed in the lower half and will oppose qualifier Wei Sijia of China.

While the men’s seeds mirror the current PIF ATP Tour Rankings from No. 1-32, the women’s seeds from No. 10-32 were shifted up one spot due to the withdrawal of World No. 10 Barbora Krejcikova of Czechia due to a back injury.

When the draws were finally revealed by co-hosts and Australian tennis champions Todd Woodbridge and Jelena Dokic – and broadcast live on the big screens around Melbourne Park – tournament director Craig Tiley had plenty of blockbuster surprises for both the men and the women.

Sinner avoids Alcaraz, Djokovic – for now

On the men’s side, Sinner will begin his title defense against Nicolas Jarry of Chile, whom he has faced twice and split the two meetings. He could meet No. 32 seed Flavio Cobolli of Italy in the third round and No. 13 seed Holger Rune in the fourth round. Meanwhile, Zverev will open with wild card Lucas Pouille of France and possibly play No. 6 Casper Ruud of Norway in the quarterfinals.

While Sinner’s path to defending a major crown is set, two of his chief rivals – former No. 1s Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic of Serbia – are on a quarterfinal collision course. While Alcaraz lacks only winning the Australian Open to complete a career Grand Slam at age 21, his path to a possible final against Sinner is full of challenges. That’s because he’s in the same half of the draw as Zverev and Djokovic and could meet No. 15 seed Jack Draper of Great Britain in the fourth round.

Speaking of Djokovic, the 10-time Australian Open champion – most recently crowned in 2023 – is seeded No. 7, due mostly to a reduced work load last year. Now coached by five-time Australian Open finalist Andy Murray, he will open against NextGen American wild card Nishesh Basavareddy as he pursues a run at a 25th Grand Slam singles title.

Djokovic could face big-serving American Reilly Opelka in the third round, No. 16 seed Grigor Dimitrov of Bulgaria in the fourth round and No. 3 seed Alcaraz in the quarterfinals.

No. 2 seed Zverev could face an enticing third-round opponent in mercurial Aussie Nick Kyrgios, who is making a comeback after being sidelined by injuries for much of the past two years, and either No. 14 Ugo Humbert or No. 20 seed Arthur Fils, both of France in the fourth round.

Looking at the men’s draw, from top to bottom, there are plenty of blockbuster first-round matches. They include: No. 32 seed Cobolli vs. Tomas Martin Etcheverry of Argentina, No. 18 seed Hubert Hurkacz of Poland vs. Tallon Griekspoor of the Netherlands, No. 13 seed Rune vs. Zhang Zhizhen of China, No. 11 Stefanos Tsitsipas vs. Alex Michelsen of the United States, No. 8 seed Alex de Minaur of Australia vs. Botic van de Zandschulp of the Netherlands, No. 9 Andrey Rublev of Russia vs. NexGen ATP Finals champion and AO qualifier Joao Fonseca of Brazil, and No. 21 Ben Shelton of the United States vs. fellow American Brandon Nakashima. Also, in a battle of unseeded players, there’s Matteo Berrettini of Italy vs. Cameron Norrie of Great Britain. For pure enjoyment, there’s an all-French affair between No. 30 seed Giovanni Mpethshi Perricard against Gaël Monfils.

Possible men’s quarterfinals: No. 1 seed Jannik Sinner vs. No. 8 seed Alex de Minaur, No. 4 seed Taylor Fritz vs. No. 5 seed Daniil Medvedev, No. 3 seed Carlos Alcaraz vs. No. 7 seed Novak Djokovic, and No. 6 seed Casper Ruud vs. No. 2 seed Alexander Zverev.

Sabalenka dealt a very tough draw

Two-time defending champion Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus was dealt a very tough draw that could include meeting No. 5 seed and 2024 Olympic gold medalist Zheng Qinwen of China in the quarterfinals and No. 3 seed Coco Gauff of the United States in the semifinals, which would be a rematch of their 2024 Australian Open tussle. She will open with 2017 US Open champion Sloane Stephens in the first round.

Both Sabalenka, who last week won her first title of the new year at Brisbane, and Gauff, who was most valuable player in leading the United States to the United Cup title in Sydney, come in with plenty of matches under their belt. Gauff has won 18 of her last 20 matches, including titles at the Beijing Open, WTA Finals in Riyadh and her success at the United Cup. Gauff opens against 2020 Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin of the United States and could face another American and sometimes doubles partner, No. 7 seed Jessica Pegula, in the quarterfinals.

Meanwhile, No. 2 seed Iga Swiatek of Poland at the bottom of the women’s draw opens against Katerina Siniakova of Czechia. Her biggest tests likely won’t come until the second week when she could face No. 8 seed Emma Navarro of the United States in the quarterfinals and No. 6 seed Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan in the semifinals.

Looking at the women’s draw from top to bottom, among many interesting first-round matches include: No. 29 seed Linda Noskova of Czechia vs. recent Auckland winner Clara Tauson, two-time Australian Open champion Naomi Osaka of Japan vs. Caroline Garcia of France, No. 16 seed Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia vs. 2021 Olympic gold medalist Belinda Bencic of Switzerland and No. 6 seed Rybakina vs. Australian wild card and ITF junior No. 1 Emerson Jones. Osaka could face Gauff in the fourth round.

Possible women’s quarterfinals: No. 1 seed Aryna Sabalenka vs. No. 5 seed Zheng Qinwen, No. 3 seed Coco Gauff vs. No. 7 Jessica Pegula, No. 6 seed Elena Rybakina vs. No. 4 Jasmine Paolini, No. 8 seed Emma Navarro vs. No. 2 seed Iga Swiatek.

Next Gen comes alive in Melbourne

There will be three teenagers in the men’s main draw of the Australian Open – a first since the US Open in 2015. Next Gen ATP Finals champion Joao Fonseca of Brazil, Martin Landaluce of Spain and Learner Tien of the United States each made it through three rounds of qualifying this week to earn their berths in the main draw.

An extra day means main-draw play starts Sunday

With a 15th day added to this year’s tournament at Melbourne Park, main draw play begins Sunday for the second time and will include Aryna Sabalenka vs. Sloane Stephens, Alexander Zverev vs. Lucas Pouille, and Casper Ruud vs. Jaume Munar of Spain. The top half of the women’s draw and the bottom half of the men’s draw will kick off action at Australian Open 2025.

Complete Australian Open men’s singles draw

Complete Australian Open women’s singles draw

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