Australian Open 2025 draw: Follow the latest updates, news from Melbourne Park
The Australian Open draw landed some telling blows - including on the defending champions and an all-time great. See how it treated Australian stars Alex de Minaur and Nick Kyrgios.
Alex de Minaur will be sent on a collision course with reigning champion Jannik Sinner after his name was called in the same quarter of the Australian Open draw.
To reach a grand slam semi-final for the first time, Australia’s world No.8 will need to get past an opponent he has never beaten in nine previous attempts.
De Minaur, 25, secured a valuable top-eight seeding after rival Andrey Rublev slid down the rankings to No. 9 following a shock first-round defeat at the Hong Kong Open last week.
The seeding meant he was assured of not facing a higher-ranked opponent until at least the quarterfinals, but Sinner lies in his path after potential clashes against 31st seed Francisco Cerundolo in the third round and either 11th seed Stefanos Tsitsipas or 19th seed Karen Khachanov in the fourth round.
De Minaur’s first-round opponent, Dutchman Botic van de Zandschulp, is a dangerous player in his own right and left commentators stunned when he ousted Carlos Alcaraz from the second round of the US Open last year.
Alcaraz lies in the path of Australia’s No. 27 seed Jordan Thompson should he advance to the fourth round.
Nick Kyrgios was handed Britain’s Jacob Fearnley as his first-round opponent before a potential second-round clash against No. 28 seed Sebastien Baez.
If the firebrand Australian is able to get his body through the first two rounds, he could set up a blockbuster third-round clash with No.2 seed Alexander Zverev.
In the women’s draw, Australian 16-year-old prodigy Emerson Jones faces a baptism of fire in her first senior grand slam after being drawn to face No. 6 seed Elena Rybakina.
Jones, who turned heads with a straight-sets demolition of world No. 37 Xinyu Wang in her WTA tour debut in Adelaide this week, will need to bring down the 2022 Wimbledon champion to win on her Australian Open debut.
Rybakina was not the only tough first-round opponent handed to an Australian, with fellow wildcard Maya Joint drawn against No. 7 seed Jessica Pegula.
Daria Saville was also set for a difficult encounter against unseeded Russian Anna Blinkova, who made it to the third round at Melbourne Park last year.
Olivia Gadecki, who was the only Australian woman to automatically qualify for the main draw, was handed world No. 77 Veronika Kudermetova in the first round but faced a crowded section of the draw, with a potential second-round clash to follow against British star Katie Boulter.
Talia Gibson was drawn to face Turkish 22-year-old Zeynep Sonmez. - ED BOURKE
INTERNATIONAL WRAP: NOVAK’S QUEST HITS HURDLE
By Julian Linden
If Novak Djokovic does finally break Margaret Court’s grand slam singles record at this year’s Australian Open, the Serbian will have earned it the hard way.
Seeded seventh after failing to win a major in 2024, Djokovic wasn’t dealt any great favours in Thursday’s singles draw at Melbourne Park, while the defending champion Jannik Sinner got all the big breaks that come with being ranked No.1 in the world.
Although he will start his Melbourne Park campaign against American wildcard Nishesh Basavareddy, Djokovic has a tricky draw ahead of him if he hopes to add to his record 10 Aussie Open titles.
His potential third round opponent is Czech Tomas Machac, who won a gold medal in the mixed doubles at last year’s Paris Olympics after beating Djokovic on clay in the semi-finals of the Geneva Open.
And it doesn’t get any easier after that for the 37-year-old GOAT, now being coached by modern great Andy Murray.
If the seeds all win their early matches, Djokovic could face the daunting prospect of having to beat Grigor Dimitrov (fourth round) then reigning French Open and Wimbledon champion Carlos Alcaraz in the quarters and world No.2 Alexander Zverev in the semis just to make the final, with Sinner possibly lying in wait.
Of the top seeds in the 128 player men’s draw, Sinner fared best.
The Italian’s first round opponent is Chile’s Nicolas Jarry, who just missed out on being selected as one of the last seeds.
Being on the opposite half of the draw from Djokovic, Alcaraz and Zverev is a massive boost to Sinner’s chances, but he’s shown before he has the stomach for a fight.
Australia’s Alex de Minaur is looming as his quarter-final opponent.
One of the most improved players in the game, eighth-seeded de Minaur is a dangerous floater but Sinner is the last player he wants to meet after losing all eight of his past matches against the skinny Italian baseliner.
Alcaraz, 21, will become the youngest man to complete the career grand slam if he can win the Australian Open before 2027 but the Spaniard also ended up the hardest side of the draw.
The women’s draw also threw up some intriguing first round match-ups.
Two-time defending champion Aryna Sabalenka was drawn to face 2017 US Open champion Sloane Stephens in the opening round, then possibly last year’s Australian Open and Olympic gold medal winner Qinwen Zheng in the quarters.
“To be back here, and to walk here with this beautiful trophy as the two-time defending champion is definitely something special,” said Sabalenka, who joined Sinner at the draw.
“I really hope that I can keep doing what I’m doing here in Australia.
“(Winning three in a row) would be huge, but I have to focus on myself ... bring my best tennis every time I’m out there, and put my name next to those legends.”
American Coco Gauff, the 2023 US Open champion, was seeded third and also in the top tougher half of the draw.
Like Sabalenka, Gauff faces a tough first assignment against 2020 Australian Open winner Sofia Kenin, then possibly former world No.1 Naomi Osaka in the quarters.
Poland’s Iga Swiatek, the women’s No.2 seed, opens against Katerina Siniakova, with fourth Jasmine Paolini and Elena Rybakina lurking as potential semi-finalists in the bottom half.
Re-live the draw in our blog below
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Originally published as Australian Open 2025 draw: Follow the latest updates, news from Melbourne Park
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