AUSTRALIAN OPEN 2025: all you need to know

The best of the best tennis players head Down Under to make their name known and compete for the Australian Open title and hefty cash prize.

Melbourne Park is set to be filled with spectators and fans during the tournament, with over 900 000 people expected to attend the 15 days of action.

Order of Play | Watch Live on DStv

WHERE: Melbourne Park.

WHEN: 12-26 January

BROADCAST DETAILS

From Sunday 12 until Sunday 26 January, there will be two feeds available on SuperSport:

- from 2am on SuperSport Tennis / Tennis Africa

- from 2am on SuperSport Variety 1 / Variety 1 Africa

- from 2am on SuperSport OTT Four / Six

- Grandstand will regularly feature action from Melbourne Park.

The quarterfinals start on Tuesday, 21 January, with times altering slightly from there, but all the main matches will be live on SuperSport Tennis.

> > > CHECK OUT THE AVAILABLE PREMIUM PACKAGES ON DSTV STREAM < < <

DEFENDING CHAMPIONS

Men's world No 1 Jannik Sinner is hoping to replicate 2024, when he won his first major by defeating Daniil Medvedev, a run that included ending Novak Djokovic's 33-match Australian Open winning streak.

In the women's singles tournament, projected top seed Aryna Sabalenka is looking to be the first player to win three straight championships since Martina Hingis did so in 1999. 

She is one of five former Australian Open winners on the entry list, along with Victoria Azarenka (2012, 2013), Naomi Osaka (2019, 2021), Caroline Wozniacki (2018) and Sofia Kenin (2020).

THE CONTENDERS

Big names like Alexander Zverev, Carlos Alcaraz and US stars Taylor Fritz, Tommy Paul, and Frances Tiafoe are all aiming to dethrone Sinner.

In women's section, the competition will be fierce, with Iga Swiatek — whose one-month WTA ban for doping violations ended on 28 December — and US stars Coco Gauff and Jessica Pegula all regarded as major contenders.

THE FORMAT

The 2025 Australian Open will begin with three rounds of qualifying running from 6-9 January, with the final 16 spots in the men's singles and women's singles tournaments up for grabs.

Those qualifiers will fill out 128-player fields for both events.

From there, it's straightforward: single-elimination knockout play, with men's singles matches using a five-set format and three-set matches in women's singles and all three doubles events (men's, women's, and mixed).

To win in the singles tournaments, a player will have to win seven straight matches.

PRIZE MONEY

The total prize money is $59.90 million, an increase of 11.56 per cent from 2024.

The winners of the men’s and women’s singles in 2024, Sinner and Sabalenka, received A$3,150,000 in prize money.

This year the champions will earn $2.17 million.