Aryna Sabalenka and Jannik Sinner hope to defend their titles (Picture: Getty)
The first Grand Slam tennis tournament of 2025 is here as the top players in the world fight for glory at the Australian Open at Melbourne Park.
Novak Djokovic, coached by British icon Andy Murray, aiming to land a 25th major title to move clear of Margaret Court’s all-time record, faces American teen and Auckland semi-finalist Nishesh Basavareddy in his opening men’s singles match.
Emma Raducanu takes on Ekaterina Alexandrova in the women’s singles, although the Briton’s preparations have been harmed by a ‘back niggle’ which ruled her out of the warm-up ASB Classic event in Auckland.
Here’s everything you need to know about the Australian Open including the start date, how to watch on TV from the UK, full schedule and seeds…
When does the Australian Open start?
The Australian Open main draw gets underway on Sunday, January 12. The two-week Grand Slam tournament will conclude on Sunday, January 26.
How to watch the Australian Open on TV and live stream in the UK
Jannik Sinner is the current champion in the men’s singles (Picture: Getty)
You can watch the Australian Open live on Eurosport, who own the broadcasting rights to the action from Melbourne Park in the UK.
Eurosport 1 is on channel 413 and Eurosport 2 is on channel 414 on Sky TV. You can also live stream every match on discovery+.
Australian Open seeds
The Australian Open has 32 seeded players in both the men’s and women’s singles draws.
Full list of seeded men’s players for Australian Open
Jannik Sinner (1)
Alexander Zverev (2)
Carlos Alcaraz (3)
Taylor Fritz (4)
Daniil Medvedev (5)
Casper Ruud (6)
Novak Djokovic (7)
Alex de Minaur (8)
Andrey Rublev (9)
Grigor Dimitrov (10)
Stefanos Tsitsipas (11)
Tommy Paul (12)
Holger Rune (13)
Ugo Humbert (14)
Jack Draper (15)
Lorenzo Musetti (16)
Frances Tiafoe (17)
Hubert Hurkacz (18)
Karen Khachanov (19)
Arthur Fils (20)
Ben Shelton (21)
Sebastian Korda (22)
Alejandro Tabilo (23)
Jiri Lehecka (24)
Alexei Popyrin (25)
Tomas Machac (26)
Jordan Thompson (27)
Sebastian Baez (28)
Felix Auger-Aliassime (29)
Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard (30)
Francisco Cerundolo (31)
Flavio Cobolli (32)
Aryna Sabalenka clinched the women’s singles title in 2024 (Picture: Getty)
Full list of seeded women’s players for Australian Open
Aryna Sabalenka (1)
Iga Swiatek (2)
Coco Gauff (3)
Jasmine Paolini (4)
Qinwen Zheng (5)
Elena Rybakina (6)
Jessica Pegula (7)
Emma Navarro (8)
Daria Kasatkina (9)
Danielle Collins (10)
Paula Badosa (11)
Diana Shnaider (12)
Anna Kalinskaya (13)
Mirra Andreeva (14)
Beatriz Haddad Maia (15)
Jelena Ostapenko (16)
Marta Kostyuk (17)
Donna Vekic (18)
Madison Keys (19)
Karolina Muchova (20)
Victoria Azarenka (21)
Katie Boulter (22)
Magdalena Frech (23)
Yulia Putintseva (24)
Liudmila Samsonova (25)
Ekaterina Alexandrova (26)
Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (27)
Elina Svitolina (28)
Linda Noskova (29)
Leylah Fernandez (30)
Maria Sakkari (31)
Dayana Yastremska (32)
Who are the Australian Open wildcards?
Three-time major champion and Swiss veteran Stan Wawrinka has been handed a wildcard to compete in the men’s singles.
He is joined by Lucas Pouille, Nishesh Basavareddy, Kasidit Samrej, Tristan Schoolkate, Li Tu, James McCabe and Omar Jasika.
In the women’s singles, Zhang Shuai, Daria Saville and Ajla Tomljanovic have all been given wildcards. The same is true for Emerson Jones, Talia Gibson, Maya Joint, Chloe Paquet and Iva Jovic.
What time will play start each day at the Australian Open?
Fans will be able to watch all the action on Eurosport in the UK (Picture: Getty)
Play at the Australian Open will begin at 12am UK time each day on the outside courts and 1am on the show courts. The Australian Open night sessions will start at 8am UK time.
Australian Open prize money round-by-round
Australian Open prize money for men and women
R128 – $132,000 AUD
R64 – $200,000 AUD
R32 – $290,000 AUD
R16 – $420,000 AUD
Quarter-finalist – $665,000 AUD
Semi-finalist – $1,100,000 AUD
Finalist – $1,900,000 AUD
Winner -$3,500,000 AUD
Australian Open schedule
Sunday 12 January
Start of Round 1 – Men’s Singles, Women’s Singles
Monday 13 January
Round 1 continued – Men’s Singles, Women’s Singles
Tuesday 14 January
Round 1 continued – Men’s Singles, Women’s Singles
Start Round 1 – Men’s Doubles, Women’s Doubles
Wednesday 15 January
Start Round 2 – Men’s Singles, Women’s Singles
Round 1 continued – Men’s Doubles, Women’s Doubles
Thursday 16 January
Round 2 continued – Men’s Singles, Women’s Singles
Round 1 continued – Men’s Doubles, Women’s Doubles
Start Round 1 – Mixed Doubles
Friday 17 January
Start Round 3 – Men’s Singles, Women’s Singles
Start of Round 2 – Men’s Doubles, Women’s Doubles
Round 1 continued – Mixed Doubles
Saturday 18 January
Round 3 continued – Men’s Singles, Women’s Singles
Round 2 continued – Men’s Doubles, Women’s Doubles
Round 1 continued – Mixed Doubles
Sunday 19 January
Start Round 4 – Men’s Singles, Women’s Singles
Start of Round 3 – Men’s Doubles, Women’s Doubles
Start of Round 2 – Mixed Doubles
Monday 20 January
Round 4 continued – Men’s Singles, Women’s Singles
Round 3 continued – Men’s Doubles, Women’s Doubles
Round 2 continued – Mixed Doubles
Tuesday 21 January
Start of Quarterfinals – Men’s Singles, Women’s Singles, Men’s Doubles, Women’s Doubles, Mixed Doubles
Wheelchair Championships Round 1 – Men’s Wheelchair Singles, Women’s Wheelchair Singles, Quads Singles
Wednesday 22 January
Quarterfinals continued – Men’s Singles, Women’s Singles, Men’s Doubles, Women’s Doubles
Semifinals – Mixed Doubles
Wheelchair Championships Round 2 – Men’s Wheelchair Singles, Women’s Wheelchair Singles, Quads Singles
Thursday 23 January
Semifinals – Women’s Singles, Men’s Doubles
Wheelchair Championships Semifinals – Men’s Wheelchair Singles, Women’s Wheelchair Singles, Quads Singles
Friday 24 January
Semifinals – Men’s Singles
Doubles Final – Men’s Doubles, Mixed Doubles
Doubles Semifinals – Women’s Doubles
Saturday 25 January
Final – Women’s Singles
Wheelchair Final – Men’s Wheelchair Singles, Women’s Wheelchair Singles, Quads Singles
Sunday 26 January
Final – Men’s Singles, Women’s Doubles