Brits making main draw debuts

The first Grand Slam of the year is always an exciting moment in the tennis calendar, but this year that will especially be the case for Britain’s Sonay Kartal and Jacob Fearnley.

Why? Because both Britons will be making their main draw debut at the Australian Open off the back of incredible 2024 seasons.

Kartal reached a career-high world No.84 after winning her first WTA title in Monastir as well as a standout trophy at the Lexus W100 Shrewsbury.

Meanwhile, Fearnley went on an impressive run on the ATP Challenger Tour – winning his first title in his first event at the Rothesay Open Nottingham, before winning another three before the end of the year. He’s one of only two Brits to win four Challengers in a calendar year, alongside Jack Draper in 2022.

Their rises will see both players take on new calendars this year, moving up to the WTA and ATP Tours full time and they will certainly be ones to watch in Melbourne and beyond.

Can Jack Draper go one further and is this Katie Boulter’s time for a Grand Slam run?

Both British No.1s – Draper and Boulter – are arguably in some of the best form of their careers right now.

Despite currently dealing with a slight injury that put him out of the United Cup, Draper finished 2024 at a career-high world No.15 with a Grand Slam semi-final debut at the US Open and a first ATP 500 title in Vienna.

The 22-year-old has now cemented his place amongst the world’s most elite players and has shown he can beat the very best, with wins over Carlos Alcaraz, Taylor Fritz and Alex de Minaur in the last 12 months. Having had that first taste of a run to the final four in New York, Draper will be confident and hungry to reach new levels this year and where better to start than Melbourne?

Boulter has gone from strength to strength since her first WTA title in the summer of 2023 and is now a permanent fixture in the WTA top 30 and getting regular seedings in Slams.

The British star from Leicester has shown that in Australia specifically, she has the capability to take down top players. Last year she recorded the biggest in of her career against then world No.5 Jessica Pegula, she’s previously made an ITF final in Canberra and this year, was one millimetre away from serving for the match against five-time major champion Iga Swiatek.

Boulter has only made it into the second round twice, but the fast conditions in Melbourne should suit her game for a strong outing in 2025.

Will Aryna Sabalenka continue her Melbourne reign?

World No.1 Sabalenka has been the dominant force at the Australian Open for the last two years – winning back-to-back titles in 2023 and 2024, and is currently on a 14 match winning streak in Melbourne.

This year, she will be looking to become the first women’s singles player to win three titles in a row since Martina Hingis between 1997-1999.

Sabalenka also has form in in her favour, heading into the first Grand Slam of the year. In September, she won her third major at the US Open and then went on to win the WTA 1000 Wuhan and make the semi-finals of the WTA Finals.

The question is, who could stop her? World No.2 Swiatek will be an obvious challenger but has only made the semi-finals on one occasion in Australia.

USA’s Coco Gauff finished the season strong by winning the WTA Finals, had a tough battle with Sabalenka in the semi-finals last year and currently leads the head-to-head 5-4.

The last two runners-up Qinwen Zheng and Elena Rybakina could be the best bets. Zheng won two titles last year and made the final in Riyadh. Meanwhile, Rybakina has been flying at the United Cup so far and is a former Grand Slam winner herself.

Novak Djokovic gunning for that 25^th title

Djokovic comes into 2025 with one main goal in mind – becoming the sole record holder for Grand Slam singles titles, which he currently holds with Margaret Court.

Where better to do it than the Australian Open, the tournament he’s won 10 times – more than any other event.

However, to do so he will likely have to overcome world No.1 and reigning Australian Open and US Open champion Jannik Sinner, who had one of the all-time great seasons in 2024. Sinner has also had the better of Djokovic on four of their last five meetings.

The Australia Open is the only Grand Slam that 21-year-old Alcaraz hasn’t won yet so there will be extra incentive for him. Daniil Medvedev has made the final in three of the last four years and two-time semi-finalist and current world No.2 Alexander Zverev will be hoping he can end his search for a first major.

Nick Kyrgios makes long awaited return

Former Wimbledon runner-up Kyrgios is set to make his long-awaited return to singles action at his home Grand Slam after a wrist injury put him out of action for over 18 months.

On his first match back at the Brisbane International there were plenty of encouraging signs in a three tie-break set clash with one of the form players on the tour right now - Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard.

Kyrgios is always one to get the fans excited with his entertaining brand of tennis and will also feature again in the men’s doubles with Thanasi Kokkinakis. The Australian pair won the title two years ago.

Tennis rivalries reaching their peak

As you look at the game right now across both the ATP and WTA Tours, it’s fair to say that we are reaching a peak for rivalries across the board.

While the days of the Big Four’s rivalries in the men’s game have gone, there are new emerging battles that have become equally as exciting on both sides of the sport.

Sinner and Alcaraz is a matchup that never fails to deliver and their final in Beijing last year was arguably one of the matches of the season. Then you throw in Djokovic into the equation against either of the current Grand Slam holders and those battles between the most successful player of all-time and the next generation are immense.

Elsewhere, you’ve got Zverev and Medvedev who bring their contrasting styles and have now played each other 19 times, including a five-set blockbuster at the Australian Open last year.

On the women’s side, Sabalenka against Swiatek is another incredible battle between two players who have found their biggest successes across different surfaces – Sabalenka dominating the hard courts and Swiatek on clay.

Recently, Sabalenka against Gauff is emerging as a must watch tie, with their last four matches coming in semi-finals or finals of Grand Slams, WTA 1000s or the WTA Finals.

Rybakina is one of few players with a winning record against Swiatek, with epic matches in Stuttagrt and Doha last year, and she beat Sabalenka twice in three matches last year.

Can Alfie Hewett get his season off to a winning start?

Britain’s Hewett will be out with a point to prove at the start of the 2025 season as he aims to add a second Australian Open singles title to his ever-growing trophy cabinet.

Hewett made history last year in winning his first Wimbledon title, but the arrival of young Japanese star Tokito Oda onto the wheelchair tennis scene has been a huge challenge to his dominance over the last couple of years.

Hewett and Oda have faced each other in the last two Australian Open finals with one title apiece, but the Japanese star also got the better of him in the Paralympics gold medal match back in September.

The Briton will want to make a strong statement to begin the year and a win in Melbourne would give him a huge psychological edge going into the rest of the campaign.