The start of 2025 brings the first tennis grand slam of the year, as the world’s finest players compete for the Australian Open title in January.

While fans have to wait until the spring and summer for the bulk of the major action, the first major of the season begins just 12 days into the new year, with Melbourne Park welcoming thousands of spectators across the hard court Rod Laver, John Cain and Margaret Court arenas.

Jannik Sinner and Aryna Sabalenka will look to defend their singles titles down under, with both players among a slew of storylines in the sport heading into 2025, including Novak Djokovic’s partnership with Andy Murray. From a British perspective, Jack Draper and Katie Boulter are top seeds, while Emma Raducanu returns too.

Here’s everything you need to know about the Australian Open draw and qualifying:

When is the draw for the Australian Open?

The draw will be made on Thursday, January 9 at 3.30am GMT (2.30pm local time). It will be streamed live on the Australian Open’s official website and YouTube channel.

The top-ranked players in the world enter the tournament automatically at the main draw stage, with 104 ranked players going directly into the singles draws alongside eight wildcard entries and 16 qualifiers.

In addition, 32 seeds are announced to ensure the favourites don’t meet in the earliest rounds. These have not yet been announced, with some players taking part in the Brisbane International as 2024 comes to an end.

At the moment, the top five in the men’s rankings include Sinner, Alexander Zverev, Carlos Alcaraz, Taylor Fritz and Daniil Medvedev. In the women’s rankings, it’s Sabalenka, Iga Swiatek, Coco Gauff, Jasmine Paolini and Qinwen Zheng.

The full entry list for the men’s and women’s singles can also be found on the competition’s official website.

What are the projected seeds?

Men’s singles

1. Jannik Sinner – Italy

2. Alexander Zverev – Germany

3. Carlos Alcaraz – Spain

4. Taylor Fritz – United States

5. Daniil Medvedev

6. Casper Ruud – Norway

7. Novak Djokovic – Serbia

8. Alex de Minaur – Australia

9. Andrey Rublev

10. Grigor Dimitrov – Bulgaria

11. Stefanos Tsitsipas – Greece

12. Tommy Paul – United States

13. Holger Rune – Denmark

14. Ugo Humbert – France

15. Jack Draper – Great Britain

16. Lorenzo Musetti – Italy

17. Frances Tiafoe – United States

18. Hubert Hurkacz – Poland

19. Karen Khachanov

20. Arthur Fils – France

21. Ben Shelton – United States

22. Sebastian Korda – United States

23. Alejandro Tabilo – Chile

24. Jiri Lehecka – Czech Republic

25. Alexei Popyrin – Australia

26. Tomas Machac – Czech Republic

27. Jordan Thompson – Australia

28. Sebastian Baez – Argentina

29. Felix Auger-Aliassime – Canada

30. Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard – France

31. Francisco Cerundolo – Argentina

32. Flavio Cobolli – Italy

Women’s singles

1. Aryna Sabalenka

2. Iga Swiatek – Poland

3. Coco Gauff – United States

4. Jasmine Paolini – Italy

5. Zheng Qinwen – China

6. Elena Rybakina – Kazakhstan

7. Jessica Pegula – United States

8. Emma Navarro – United States

9. Daria Kasatkina

10. Danielle Collins – United States

11. Paula Badosa – Spain

12. Diana Shnaider

13. Anna Kalinskaya1

14. Mirra Andreeva

15. Beatriz Haddad Maia – Brazil

16. Jelena Ostapenko – Latvia

17. Marta Kostyuk – Ukraine

18. Donna Vekic – Croatia

19. Madison Keys – United States

20. Karoline Muchova – Czech Republic

21. Victoria Azarenka

22. Magdalena Frech – Poland

23. Katie Boulter – Great Britain

24. Yulia Putintseva – Kazakhstan

25. Liudmila Samsonova

26. Ekaterina Alexandrova

27. Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova

28. Elina Svitolina – Ukraine

29. Linda Noskova – Czech Republic

30. Leylah Fernandez – Canada

31. Maria Sakkari – Greece

32. Dayana Yastremska – Ukraine

When does the Australian Open begin?

The tournament technically starts with qualifying, which takes place between Monday 6 January and Thursday 9 January. 16 players will make it through this stage to make a 128-player field at the start of the tournament proper.

The next stage then begins on Sunday 12 January with the start of the men’s and women’s singles, while the doubles tournaments begin on 14 January.

The women’s singles final will take place on Saturday 25 January, while the men’s final comes the day after on Sunday 26 January.

Where can I watch the Australian Open?

In the UK, the Australian Open will be broadcast live on Eurosport. Subscribers can also stream the action online on the Eurosport website or with the discovery+ app.

The tournament takes place every day from midnight UK time each day on the outside courts and 1am on the show courts, while night sessions will start at 8am.

If you want to stream major sporting events while you are travelling or watching from abroad you’ll need a VPN. Get the best VPN deals in the UK. Viewers using a VPN need to make sure that they comply with any local regulations where they are, and also with the terms of their service provider.

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