PEDESTRIAN.TV has teamed up with Tennis Australia so you’re all caught up for Australian Open 2025.
The Australian Open is right around the corner, and to get you to the appropriate levels of hyped, we’ve dug into the backstories, rivalries and comebacks to watch out for at the 2025 tournament.
Will the Djoker set a new Grand Slam record? Will Kyrgios be the comeback king some tennis greats are predicting? And will Sabalenka pull off a feat not seen for almost 30 years?!?
@ausopen The djoker just being a joker 🃏 🤣 #tennis #ausopen #djokovic #tsitsipas #sabalenka #sakkari #funny ♬ original sound – Australian Open
Buckle up, everyone: the greatest two weeks to be in Melbourne is on our doorstep.
Here’s all the lore to catch up on before the Australian Open main draw begins on January 12, 2025.
@ausopen Happy Slam energy hits different 🌞🎾😎 #AO2025 ♬ original sound – Australian Open
Novak Djokovic is returning to Melbourne Park to try for a record-tying 11th Australian Open trophy after going down to Italy’s Jannik Sinner in four sets in the 2024 semi-final.
The world No. 7 is the most dominant man in Australian Open history, and in 2025 will look to tie Margaret Court’s record of 11 singles titles at the tournament.
Djokovic has had a bit of a shaky 2024, though, failing to win an ATP title for the first time since 2005. (He did pick up an Olympic gold medal in Paris, so that’s not too shabby.)
One record Djokovic already shares with Court is winning 24 Grand Slam singles titles. Will he separate himself from everyone with another AO win? He’ll definitely be hungry for it.
@ausopen 🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆 #AO2023 #AusOpen #Djokovic #Nole #Novak #Novakdjokovic #Tsitsipas #wowow @Wide World of Sports @Eurosport @ESPN ♬ original sound – Australian Open
World No. 1 Sinner will be fighting for his second AO championship this year after beating world No. 5 Daniil Medvedev in a thrilling final in 2024.
The five set showdown saw Sinner drop the first two sets, before fighting back to win 3-6 3-6 6-4 6-4 6-3.
This made Sinner the first Italian to win an AO Singles title, as well as the country’s youngest to secure a Grand Slam trophy.
This made Sinner the first Italian to win an Australian Open Singles title.
Will he break records again with a second win this AO?
@9news Sinner, Sinner, chicken dinner! 💪🏆🇮🇹🥕 #Tennis #GrandSlam #AustralianOpen #AO #sport #9News ♬ original sound – 9News Australia
Will Belinda Bencic make a triumphant comeback?
Switzerland’s Belinda Bencic disappeared from the tour in 2024 for a very good reason: she gave birth to her first child, a daughter called Bella.
2025 Australian Open will officially mark Bencic’s return, coming in with a protected ranking of 15.
“And we are back! With one more member to our team, thank you to @hamburger_tennisverband for the WC, and round two we go tomorrow! “Baby“ steps forward,” Bencic announced her return in an Instagram post.
The last time Bencic played in the Australian Open, she reached the round of 16 before going down to then world No.5 Aryna Sabalenka.
When asked about her upcoming season, Bencic told Tennis.com: “I want to get back to the top!”
@ausopen What a rally! #AO2023 #AusOpen #bencic #tomova #wowow @Eurosport @ESPN @Wide World of Sports ♬ original sound – Australian Open
If year-end world No.1 Sabalenka wins this Australian Open, she will be the first woman since Martina Hingis in 1999 to win three consecutive AO titles. However, she’ll be the target to beat this Australian Open, with rival Iga Swiatek in the No.2 spot looking to knock her out.
“Beating Iga in two sets was crazy and something I’m really happy about,” Sabalenka told The Guardian in 2024, after beating Swiatek on her way to winning the Cincinnati Open in August. “I think it’s something we are working really hard on, to make sure we face each other in the last stages of every tournament – that we keep going with this rivalry between the two of us.”
@ausopen 💪😘 #AO2023 #AusOpen #Sabalenka ♬ original sound – Australian Open
Two of the most exciting ones to watch this year will be Diana Shnaider and Mirra Andreeva. The players were singled out by Rick Macci — a.k.a. Serena and Venus Williams’ childhood coach — as the ones to keep an eye on as the tournament heats up.
“This year, the first major for the WTA TOUR is really the AUSTRALIAN WIDE OPEN as many subplots and questions marks with the top players and new faces ready to enter the Grand Slam Discussion but keep a special eye on the talented young Russians,” he shared on X.
At just 20 years old, Shnaider has four WTA titles, while Andreeva is the fifth player in history to defeat three former WTA #1s before turning 18 and boasts a stunningly impressive 2024 win-loss record of 34-16.
Shnaider and Andreeva also joined forces to win a women’s doubles silver medal at the Paris 2024 Olympics.
So yeah, we get what Macci’s talking about!
@stansportau 17-year-old Mirra Andreeva knocks out Sabalenka and she’s through to the semifinals! ↳ Roland-Garros. Every Match. Ad-free. Live & On Demand. Four Courts in 4K UHD, on the Home of Grand Slam Tennis, Stan Sport. #StanSportAU #RolandGarros ♬ MILLION DOLLAR BABY (VHS) – Tommy Richman
Alex de Minaur has made three consecutive Grand Slam quarterfinals, which no one has done since Lleyton Hewitt over 20 years ago.
He’s not our golden boy for no reason, entering this year’s Australian Open as the highest-ranked Aussie, at World No. 9.
In December 2024, de Minaur won the Ultimate Tennis Showdown in London, defeating Denmark’s Holger Rune in the final.
“I enjoy proving people wrong; I enjoy achieving things that maybe a lot of people didn’t think I could,” de Minaur told We Are Tennis.
He’s previously only made it as far as the fourth round in the Australian Open, but will 2025 be his year to change that? One thing’s for certain: all of Australia will be rooting for him.
@ausopen Aussie battler spirit from #alexdeminaur 🇦🇺 #tennis #ausopen ♬ original sound – Australian Open
You can catch all the action at Australian Open 2025 by picking up a Grounds Pass, which gives you access to everything in the AO precinct, including Grand Slam Oval, Garden Square, and the brand-new Topcourt — a fan experience offering live music, immersive gaming experiences, play zones and more. Find out more here.
