Australian Open Tennis 2025 Top Contenders!

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Author: Liam Lacey,

The 2025 tennis season will officially commence on Sunday, January 12th, with the Australian Open once again taking place on the renowned hardcourts of Melbourne Park. Reigning 2024 champions Jannik Sinner and Aryna Sabalenka are set to return to Melbourne Park to defend their Australian Open titles. The question remains: can anyone prevent them from retaining their championships?

Below we will look at the main challengers for both titles over the fortnight in Melbourne.

The Favourites for the Men’s Title

Top contenders for the australian open tennis tournament jan

1️⃣ Jannik Sinner

As I have already mentioned Jannik Sinner enters the tournament as the defending men’s champion, and favourite to add another Grand Slam to his growing collection. A win in Melbourne would bring the first ever Italian World No 1 to three Grand Slam Titles since this tournament in 2024 and would confirm the 23-year-old as the best player in the world right now.

2️⃣ Carlos Alcaraz

It is strange that a four-time Grand Slam champion and winner of two in 2024 at Wimbledon and the French Open is almost flying under the radar in Melbourne this year. With all the talk about Sinner, and Djokovic and his new coach however, that appears to be the case for the 21-year-old Spanish superstar coming into the tournament. Alcaraz took home two Grand Slams in 2024 but has never made it past the Quarter Final stage of the year’s first Slam.

3️⃣ Novak Djokovic

The Serbian heads to Melbourne with serious questions to answer about just how competitive he can be at this stage of his legendary career. The 37-year-old has brought in a blockbuster coach with the addition of long-time rival and three-time Grand Slam winner Andy Murray to his team. Djokovic will hope that Murray can give him a fresh perspective on his game, having spent so long trying to stop him over the years. Murray was also a player until last year, so will be able to add another dimension to Djokovic’s knowledge of some of his current rivals, as he bids to win Grand Slam number 25 in Australia.

Women’s Title Favourites

1️⃣ Aryna Sabalenka

Sabalenka heads to Melbourne trying to become the first woman since Martina Hingis in the late 90s to win three consecutive Australian Open Championships. Sabalenka could not have had a better preparation for her three-peat bid after winning in Brisbane for the first time last week, and heads to Melbourne Park as the favourite to win her fourth Major.

2️⃣ Coco Gauff

Gauff geared up for the 2025 Australian Open by helping America win the United Cup last week. That run to the title included a statement win over rival Iga Swiatek, her second win in a row against the Polish former World No 1. Gauff had three Singles title wins in 2024 including the year ending WTA Finals where she beat Swiatek, Sabalenka and Zheng Qinwen to win the tournament.

3️⃣ Iga Swiatek

Like Sinner, the 23-year-old former World No 1 had some issues off the court in 2024, but she kicked off her 2025 season by helping Poland to the Finals of the United Cup. Swiatek had five Singles matches during the tournament and lost only once, albeit in the Final match against Gauff. The 5-time Grand Slam champion has never made it past the Semi-Finals in Melbourne, but if she can return to her best form over the next two weeks, she will be a major threat.

"Sabalenka heads to Melbourne trying to become the first woman since Martina Hingis in the late 90s to win three consecutive Australian Open Championships."

Other Contenders

On the men’s side, perennial Grand Slam contender Alexander Zverev will hope that the 2025 Australian Open is where he wins his first Grand Slam.

American Taylor Fritz is another outside bet for the men’s title. Fritz really stepped forward as a top-level player in 2024, reaching his maiden Grand Slam Final at the US Open, losing to Sinner, before losing to Sinner once again at the ATP Finals in Turin.

In the Women’s event, Elena Rybakina had a challenging 2024, winning three titles, but also seeing the second half of her season affected by illness. She kicked off her 2025 at the United Cup helping Kazakhstan to the Semi-Finals, winning 3 singles matches, before losing to Swiatek.

Another contender could be Zheng Qinwen. The Chinese player reached the Final in Australia in 2024, losing to Sabalenka, before winning Olympic Gold in Paris. She also reached the Final at the year ending WTA Finals and is a threat to most players on a hard court.

When is it on?

The event which as always should be a spectacular one for fans and players alike kicks off on Sunday January 12th, with the Women’s and Men’s Finals due to take place on January 25th and 26th respectively.

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Liam is a sportswriter from County Laois in Ireland who specializes in delivering content on GAA and Football matters (though he does see himself as somewhat of a tennis aficionado also!). Liam has written about All Ireland Gaelic Football and Hurling Championships, Premier League, Champions League and International Football offering expert opinion and match previews and predictions. Occasionally even getting some right!