On Australian courts, the 2025 season begins with highly anticipated returns, stated ambitions and behind-the-scenes tensions. From Brisbane to Sydney, the great figures of world Tennis are already tracing the first contours of a year marked by challenge.
Barely have the end of year festivities ended, world tennis is regaining its breath and its challenges in Australia. From Perth to Brisbane, via Sydney, the new season promises to be full of tension. The first exchanges will take place on Friday with the United Cup, a mixed national team competition. But it is in Brisbane that the attention crystallizes. Novak Djokovic, a key figure on the circuit, will make his return in a unique context. The Serbian, who has won ten titles in Melbourne, will approach this season with a new coach: Andy Murray, a former rival who has become a mentor.
This collaboration, announced in November, intrigues as much as it fascinates. What will the Briton, known for his strategic finesse, bring to Djokovic’s already formidable game? Expectations live up to ambitions: to win a 25th Grand Slam title at the Australian Open. However, Brisbane will not be just a springboard for Djokovic. The event could mark a spectacular sporting reconciliation.
According to social networks, the “Djoker” would consider lining up in doubles with Nick Kyrgios, another protagonist of a highly anticipated return. After two years away from the courts due to injuries, the enfant terrible of Australian tennis is finding his audience and his bearings.
This explosive association promises a show that lives up to the reputation of the two men. But if Brisbane attracts attention, tensions are also playing out elsewhere. Jannik Sinner, current world No.1, has chosen to skip the preparation tournaments.
Officially, the Italian is calling for a “very long” 2024 season. In reality, his absence is overshadowed by a doping affair which has pursued him since last March. Testing positive for clostebol, an anabolic, Sinner is now awaiting the decision of the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).
Despite this sword of Damocles, he continued to pile up titles in 2024, establishing himself as one of the most consistent players on the circuit. But will he be able to maintain this level of excellence if a suspension were to be imposed? In the women’s draw, Aryna Sabalenka, world No.1 and double Grand Slam winner last year, begins her season in Brisbane with strong ambitions. In front of her, a reinvigorated Iga Swiatek.
The Pole, marked by a short-term suspension after a positive test for trimetazidine, intends to learn the lessons of a chaotic end to the season to come back stronger. “A lot of tears and sleepless nights,” she confided recently.
But now, she is ready to reconquer the summits, starting with the United Cup, where she will meet her rivals, including Coco Gauff, victorious at the WTA Finals in Riyadh. Furthermore, another return attracts attention, that of Naomi Osaka. After a long break marked by the birth of his daughter, the Japanese star will begin his season in Auckland.
Always in search of her best level, Osaka approaches this year as a new stage in her career. His gradual return reflects a quest for balance between sporting ambition and personal challenges. So many issues that mark this return to world tennis. Far from being a simple preparation meeting, the Australian tour crystallizes the ambitions and doubts of the greatest figures in tennis. Between significant returns, legal tensions and new alliances, the Australian courts are laying the foundations for a year rich in emotions and twists and turns.
Ayoub Ibnoulfassih / ECO Inspirations
