Australian Open 2025: When does it start, how to watch, who is playing, who is favourite to win

The sound of tennis rackets hitting balls at Melbourne Park is almost echoing in our ears, and the scent of sunscreen fills the air. The 2025 Australian Open, also known as the "Happy Slam," is about to fully unfold, with the main draw officially kicking off on Sunday.

This year, the court will see both returning veterans and rising stars. The retirement of some legends has also led to some notable absences in the competition. Meanwhile, local player Alex de Minaur, the eighth seed in the men's singles, is highly anticipated, although his draw is not ideal (more details will follow).

If you are one of the thousands of fans flocking to Melbourne Park, or want to watch the matches from home, we have prepared a comprehensive viewing guide for you, covering everything you need to know.

The main draw of the Australian Open will begin on Sunday, January 12th, and conclude on Sunday, January 26th, with the men's final closing the event. Early matches start at 10:00 AM Australian Eastern Daylight Time, and evening matches start at 5:00 PM. Last year was the first time the Australian Open started on a Sunday, one day earlier than before, extending the event to 15 days instead of the traditional two weeks, in order to address Melbourne's previous issues with matches ending too late. Remember the nearly 6-hour, five-set marathon between Andy Murray and Thanasi Kokkinakis in 2023? That match didn't end until after 4:00 AM.

Fans welcomed the weekend start to the main draw (and the not-so-late finishing times), so organizers have adopted this schedule again this year. This year's Australian Open will be held on 39 courts at Melbourne Park, including the 15,000-seat Rod Laver Arena (for major matches), the "People's Court" John Cain Arena, and Margaret Court Arena.

The women's final is scheduled for Saturday, January 25th, and the men's final will be held the day after on Sunday, January 26th. The men's and women's singles champions will each receive $3.5 million in prize money, the runners-up will receive $1.9 million, and the semi-finalists will receive $1.1 million.

Aryna Sabalenka, the defending Australian Open champion and world number one, who just won the Brisbane International, is the favorite to win this year's event. Following closely behind is world number two and five-time Grand Slam champion Iga Swiatek. However, the Polish star has never reached the semi-finals at Melbourne Park. In addition, there is Coco Gauff, who recently defeated Swiatek in the United Cup final in January, Italian rising star Jasmine Paolini, and last year's runner-up Zheng Qinwen.

Elena Rybakina, Jessica Pegula, Emma Navarro, Daria Kasatkina, and Danielle Collins are also among the top ten seeds. Unfortunately, defending Wimbledon champion and world number ten, Barbora Krejcikova, has withdrawn due to a back injury.

Defending Australian Open champion and world number one, Jannik Sinner, is one of the favorites to win, along with two-time Grand Slam finalist and second seed Alexander Zverev, and four-time Grand Slam champion Carlos Alcaraz. Alcaraz only needs the Australian Open title to complete a career Grand Slam, while Zverev has yet to win a Grand Slam title.

Also in the mix are American star Taylor Fritz, Daniil Medvedev, and Casper Ruud, as well as seventh-ranked Novak Djokovic. Djokovic was the absolute favorite to win last year but failed to win a Grand Slam in 2024. Closely following is de Minaur, who reached the fourth round of the Australian Open last year, losing to Andrey Rublev, and made it to the quarterfinals at the French Open, Wimbledon, and the US Open.

Unfortunately, de Minaur has a tough draw, facing heavy-hitter Dutchman Botic van de Zandschulp in the first round, who upset Alcaraz at last year's US Open. If he can get through the first round, he is likely to face Federico Coria (or a qualifier) in the second round, and then his first seeded opponent in the third round, Argentine world number 31 Francisco Cerundolo. If he can make it that far, he could potentially meet 2023 runner-up Stefanos Tsitsipas in the round of 16, and then possibly face Sinner in the quarterfinals. Rublev and Grigor Dimitrov are among the top ten seeds in the men's singles.

There will be 10 Australian players competing in the main draw of the men's singles at this year's Australian Open, including three seeded players for the first time in over 40 years: Alexei Popyrin (25th seed), Jordan Thompson (27th seed), and de Minaur. There is still doubt about whether Nick Kyrgios (via protected ranking) will compete, after he withdrew from a pre-event exhibition match against Novak Djokovic due to an abdominal strain. His first-round match will be against British wildcard Jacob Fearnley.

Also worth watching are Chris O'Connell, Alexei Popyrin, Rinky Hijikata, Thanasi Kokkinakis, James Duckworth, and Adam Walton. In addition, there are four wildcard entrants: Tristan Schoolkate, Li Tu, Omar Jasika, and James McCabe. While no Australian women have secured a seeded position, Olivia Gadecki has qualified for the main draw, and there are five wildcards: Daria Saville, Ajla Tomljanovic, Maya Joint, Talia Gibson, and world number one junior Emerson Jones. Joint and Jones both have very difficult first-round matches, facing US Open finalist Jessica Pegula and 2023 Australian Open runner-up Elena Rybakina, respectively.

Two other Australian women have advanced through the qualifying rounds: Destanee Aiava and Kim Birrell.

The Australian Open is hosted by Channel Nine this year, and its streaming services 9NOW and Stan Sport will provide coverage of every court. If you are unable to watch the matches, ABC Grandstand will provide commentary through the Listen app and abc.net.au/sport, while ABC Sport digital will be live blogging every moment from Melbourne Park.

You can book day and evening tickets through the Australian Open website, with general admission tickets starting at $59.