December 31st 2024.
The excitement is building as the first Grand Slam tennis tournament of 2025, the Australian Open, is about to begin at Melbourne Park. Players from all over the world are gearing up to battle for glory and the defending champion in the men's singles is none other than Jannik Sinner. But he's not the only one to watch out for, as Novak Djokovic, coached by the legendary Andy Murray, is looking to secure his 25th major singles title and surpass Margaret Court's record.
In the women's singles, all eyes are on Emma Raducanu, the rising British star. However, her preparations have been disrupted by a pesky "back niggle" which forced her to withdraw from the warm-up ASB Classic event in Auckland. But that hasn't dampened the excitement for her fans, who are eagerly waiting to see her in action.
If you're wondering when all the action will kick off, the Australian Open main draw starts on Sunday, January 12 and will run for two weeks, concluding on Sunday, January 26. But before that, the qualifying tournament will begin on Monday, January 6 and finish on Thursday, January 9. This gives players who are not ranked high enough a chance to earn a spot in the main draw.
For those of you in the UK, you can catch all the thrilling matches live on Eurosport, who holds the broadcasting rights for the Australian Open. The matches will start at 12am UK time on the outside courts and 1am on the show courts. And for those who prefer watching at a more reasonable hour, the night sessions will start at 8am UK time.
The Australian Open has 32 seeded players in both the men's and women's singles draws. The seedings are based on the current world rankings, which were last updated on December 31, 2024. In the men's rankings, the top seed is Jannik Sinner, followed by Alexander Zverev and the young sensation Carlos Alcaraz. And in the women's rankings, Aryna Sabalenka holds the top spot, followed by Iga Swiatek and Coco Gauff.
Now, let's take a look at the full schedule for the Australian Open. The first day, Sunday, January 12, will see the start of Round 1 for both the men's and women's singles. The next two days will continue with Round 1 matches. On Tuesday, January 14, the first round of men's and women's doubles will also begin. The following day, Wednesday, January 15, will see the start of Round 2 for singles and continued matches for doubles. And on Thursday, January 16, Round 2 will continue for singles and the first round for mixed doubles will begin.
The tournament will progress with more exciting matches until Saturday, January 25, when the final for women's singles will take place. The last day, Sunday, January 26, will witness the finals for both men's and women's singles, as well as the doubles final for men and mixed. It will also be a day to celebrate the wheelchair championships, with the finals for men's and women's wheelchair singles, and quads singles.
So mark your calendars, tennis fans, because the 2025 Australian Open is set to be an unforgettable two weeks of thrilling matches and unforgettable moments.
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