The first Grand Slam of the year takes place at the Australian Open in Melbourne as Jannik Sinner and Aryna Sabalenka look to defend their titles.

The opening tournament of the season doesn’t begin until 12 days into the new year, but there are a number of questions about the fitness of Emma Raducanu and Jack Draper while Andy Murray is back in Melbourne – but this time in record-chaser Novak Djokovic’s corner.

The world’s top-ranked players automatically enter the tournament in the main draw phase, with 104 players entering directly into the singles draw, alongside eight wildcard entrants and 16 qualifiers.

When will the Australian Open 2025 take place?

The main tournament (singles) starts on January 12th, the women’s final takes place on January 25th and the men’s final on January 26th.

Where will the Australian Open 2025 take place?

The Australian Open takes place at Melbourne Park in Melbourne – the venue for the Grand Slam tournament since 1988.

Melbourne Park has three showgrounds – Rod Laver Arena (the second largest indoor sports venue in Australia with a capacity of 15,000), as well as John Cain Arena (capacity: 10,500) and Margaret Court Arena (capacity: 7,500).

When does the Australian Open draw take place?

The Australian Open singles draw took place on Thursday January 9th.

Australian Open schedule

The tournament takes place daily from midnight UK time on the outdoor courts and at 1am on the show courts. Nighttime performances begin at 8am for UK audiences.

12-14. January: First round (women and men)
15th-16th January: Second round (women and men)
17th-18th January: Third round (women and men)
19-20 January: Fourth round (women and men)
21-22 January: Quarterfinals (women and men)
January 23rd: Women’s semi-finals
January 24th: Men’s semi-finals
January 25th: Women’s final (8:30am UK time)
January 26th: Men’s final (8:30am UK time)

The Australian Open schedule also includes:

• Men’s and women’s doubles: 14th – 26th January
• Mixed doubles: 16-25 January
• Wheelchair events: 21st – 25th January
• Junior events: 18th – 27th January

Top seeded players at the Australian Open

Women’s singles

1. Aryna Sabalenka
2. Iga Swiatek (POL)
3. Coco Gauff (USA)
4. Jasmine Paolini (ITA)
5. Qinwen Zheng (CHN)
6. Elena Rybakina (KAZ)
7. Jessica Pegula (USA)
8. Emma Navarro (USA)
9. Daria Kasatkina
10. Danielle Collins (USA)

Men’s singles

1. Jannik Sinner (ITA)
2. Alexander Zverev (GER)
3. Carlos Alcaraz (ESP)
4. Taylor Fritz (USA)
5. Daniil Medvedev
6. Casper Ruud (NOR)
7. Novak Djokovic (SRB)
8. Alex de Minaur (AUS)
9. Andrey Rublev
10. Grigor Dimitrov (BUL)

Which British players will compete at the Australian Open 2025?

There are four British players featured in the women’s singles main draw.

Katie Boulter is seeded in Melbourne this year after her best season to date – winning two WTA titles (San Diego and Nottingham) and reaching another final in Hong Kong.

Emma Raducanu has reached the second round in each of the last three seasons and hopes to advance further in 2025.

She was forced to withdraw from the ASB Classic in Auckland last week due to back problems, but hopes to be ready for the Grand Slam after hiring renowned fitness coach Yutaka Nakamura to address her litany of fitness problems since winning the US Open in 2021 finish .

Sonay Kartal is in the main draw for the first time Jodie Burrage is in the protected ranking.

British No. 1 Jack Draper will lead the men’s singles squad after reaching his first Grand Slam semi-final at the US Open and has risen to No. 15 in the world rankings.

Draper came into the game this year after missing the United Cup team event in Sydney due to a hip injury and will be competing for the first time since his loss at the Paris Masters in late October.

Cameron Norrie and rising star Jacob Fearnley both have direct access to the main field.

Is Andy Murray training Novak Djokovic in Melbourne?

The 2024 tennis season had a late twist when Djokovic announced he had hired one of his biggest rivals as a coach in Melbourne.

Murray and Djokovic spent more than a week together during pre-season and one of the biggest intrigues of the tournament will be how the partnership fares.

Britain’s two-time Wimbledon champion Murray ended his playing career after the 2024 Paris Olympics in August.

But the 37-year-old decided to take on his first coaching role in Djokovic’s team in a blockbuster clash with the Serb, who was seeking his record 11th Australian Open title and historic 25th Grand Slam title.

Djokovic failed to win a Grand Slam title last year and fell out of the top five. So can Murray help him overtake his young rivals once again? And how will the Scot react if Djokovic turns his frustrations on him on the court?

How much is the Australian Open prize money?

Total prize money for the Australian Open has increased by 11.56 percent compared to last year and the singles winners of this year’s tournament will go home with a check for A$3.5 million (around £1.74 million).

Full breakdown of 2025 prize money:
Champion: A$3,500,000
Runner-up: A$1,900,000
Semi-finalists: A$1,100,000
Quarterfinalists: A$665,000
Fourth round: A$420,000
Third round: A$290,000
Second round: A$200,000
First round: A$132,000

Qualifying
Third round: $72,000
Second round: $49,000
First round: $35,000

Key statistics at Melbourne Park

3 – Aryna Sabalenka will attempt to win the women’s singles title for a third consecutive year at Melbourne Park, something Martina Hingis last achieved from 1997 to 1999.

24 – The number of Grand Slam singles championships won by Novak Djokovic is tied with Margaret Court for the highest number in tennis history. Another would give Djokovic sole possession of the record.