Jannik Sinner and Aryna Sabalenka put their title back on the line from January 12 to 26 for the first Grand Slam of the year.
At what time and on which channel to follow the 2025 Australian Open?
The Australian Open, the first Grand Slam tournament of 2025, takes place from Sunday January 12 to Sunday January 26 with a final scheduled for 9:30 a.m. French time for the men. For the women’s draw, the final will take place the day before at the same time. The tournament is being broadcast in full on Eurosport with days starting at 1 a.m. in France (11 a.m. in Melbourne). The qualifications have already started this Monday with in particular the elimination of the Habs Richard Gasquet for his final Australian Open. The draw for the main draws will take place on Thursday at 4:30 a.m. in France.
What are the favorites?
Among the men, world number 1 Jannik Sinner ended the year untouchable with 14 consecutive victories and two Grand Slam titles won (Australian Open, US Open). The defending champion starts as the big favorite. His nemesis Carlos Alcaraz, winner of the two other Grand Slam tournaments (Roland-Garros, Wimbledon) last year, intends to win his first Australian Open, the only major he is missing. At 37, Novak Djokovic is also one of the favorites. Left empty-handed from the Majors last year, the Olympic champion now associated with Andy Murray intends to win an eleventh title in his garden in Melbourne.
Among the outsiders, let us cite the Russian Daniil Medvedev, finalist in 2024, the German Alexander Zverev, a big name on this surface, and the American Taylor Fritz, finalist of the last US Open and the Masters.
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Among the ladies, Belarusian and new queen of the WTA Aryna Sabalenka, double title holder, starts as the big favorite. Behind, her rival and now world number 2 Iga Swiatek hopes to win for the first time in Melbourne. The number 3 in the WTA rankings Coco Gauff could also go all out to afford a second Major at age 20 (after the 2023 US Open).
Among the outsiders, there are many who can play spoilsport. The Italian Jasmine Paolini, 4th in the world and finalist of Roland-Garros and Wimbledon last year, the finalist of the last edition Qinwen Zheng and the American Jessica Pegula finalist of the US Open 2024.
Who are the absentees?
Wimbledon title holder and world number 10 Barbora Krejcikova announced this Sunday that she was withdrawing from participating in the Australian Open. The Czech is the victim of a back injury, she has still not played a single match in 2025. This is the main absence from the women’s side of the table.
They, on the other hand, have not yet withdrawn but could do so in the coming days. Although she is “optimistic” about her presence in Melbourne, the former world number 1 twice titled in Australia (2019, 2021) Naomi Osaka had to withdraw from the final of the WTA 250 in Auckland due to an injury abdominal. Back in the Top 100 and invited for the main draw, Frenchman Lucas Pouille, former world number 10 and semi-finalist of the 2019 edition, has withdrawn from the ATP 250 in Auckland. Same thing for world number 10 Grigor Dimitrov, injured in the groin, the Bulgarian retired in the semi-final of the ATP 250 in Brisbane.
What are the French chances?
Faced with the big names, the Tricolores will have difficulty reaching the last four even if several of them can hope to achieve a good performance like Adrian Mannarino, Arthur Cazaux or Océane Dodin who reached the round of 16 last year. pass. Author of a good start to the season, the tricolor Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard and his devastating service could lift him into the second week. The French number 1, seeded number 14 Ugo Humbert, comfortable on hard, will try to go beyond the third round for the first time. For his second participation in Melbourne, number 20 seed Arthur Fils hopes to turn a corner.
In the Women’s category, no seed, Caroline Garcia is expected to return to competition 4 months after she announced she was taking a break. Dianne Parry, 63rd in the world, could do well in the event of a good draw. Last year, she reached the third round.
A record endowment
The winnings have never been so high in Melbourne. This year’s total fund for the Australian Open is nearly $60 million, marking an increase of 11.56% from the previous year. The men’s and women’s singles winners will each earn $2.19 million, a significant increase from the $1.9 million awarded to Jannik Sinner and Aryna Sabalenka, the winners of the previous edition. As a reminder, even if you lose in the first round, a player will be guaranteed to pocket $132,000.
