The draw for the 2025 Australian Open was held on the steps of Margaret Court Arena earlier today at 2:30pm AEDT, with twenty Aussies learning their round-one fate.
Click here to watch live tennis on Stan Sport.
Aussie Men
Round 1 Matches
Tristan Schoolkate vs Taro Daniel
James McCabe vs Qualifier
Alex de Minaur [8] vs Botic Van de Zandshculp
Alexei Popyrin [25] vs Courentin Moutet
Rinky Hijikata vs Qualifier
Li Tu [WC] vs Jiri Lehecka [24]
Omar Jasika vs Hugo Gaston
Thanasi Kokkinakis vs Roman Safiullin
Aleks Vukic vs Qualifier
Jordan Thompson [27] vs Qualifier
James Duckworth vs Dominic Stricker
Chris O’Connell vs Tommy Paul [12]
Adam Walton vs Quentin Halys
Nick Kyrgios vs Jacob Fearnley
It was a very positive draw for our fourteen Australian men; twelve of whom have avoided seeds in the first round.
Australian No.1 Alex de Minaur received a difficult opening round draw, facing the dangerous Botic Van de Zandschulp; the man who knocked Carlos Alcaraz out of the 2024 US Open.
Looking ahead, the ‘Demon’ has Jannik Sinner in his quarter; a battle projected for the quarter finals should the pair uphold their seedings.
Fellow seeds Alexei Popyrin and Jordan Thompson will be favourites in their respective matches; Popyrin facing Frenchman Courentin Moutet and Thompson to learn his fate against a qualifier.
Entering the draw with a protected ranking, Nick Kyrgios could not have asked for a better draw, set to battle Brit Jacob Fearnley first up and having Sebastian Baez as his nearest seed.
As he continues to dominate in Adelaide, Thanasi Kokkinakis has drawn Roman Safiullin; in what should be an evenly poised encounter on paper.
On his Australian Open main draw debut, Tristan Schoolkate will face Japan’s Taro Daniel; a matchup in which the Aussie should believe he can exploit.
Two Aussies will face seeded opponents first up, with Chris O’Connell against American Tommy Paul and Li Tu facing Tomas Machac.
Aussie Women
Round 1 Matchups
Ajla Tomljanović [AUS] v Ashlyn Krueger [USA]
Daria Saville [AUS] v Anna Blinkova [RUS]
Talia Gibson v Zeynep Sönmez [TUR]
Olivia Gadecki [AUS] v Veronika Kudermetova [RUS]
Maya Joint [AUS] v Jessica Pegula [USA] (No.7)
Emerson Jones [AUS] v Elena Rybakina [KAZ] (No.6)
With no Aussie representatives in the women's top-32 seeds, the outcome could have been worse, as four Australians avoided seeds.
18-year-old Maya Joint and 16-year-old Emerson Jones have been paired against US Open runner-up Jessica Pegula and 2023 Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina respectively.
Joint is in the midst of a promising patch of form, winning one match at the Brisbane International draw and reaching the quarter-finals in Hobart.
Current Junior No.1, Jones, claimed the biggest scalp of her career to defeat world No.37 Xinyu Wang in Adelaide on Monday.
Despite both awaiting tough assignments, a likely appearance on Rod Laver Arena will provide invaluable experience.
Forced to withdraw from Brisbane earlier this month, Ajla Tomljanović has appeared in one match of Adelaide qualifying against America's Ashlyn Krueger, her same opponent for the opening round of the Australian Open.
Krueger won that particular clash 5-7 4-6, with the 30-year-old Aussie aiming to turn the tide.
Still searching for her first win of the new season, Olivia Gadecki will look to replicate the form that saw her rise to a career-high No.83 when she takes on former world No.9 Veronika Kudermetova.
Daria Saville and Talia Gibson will fancy their chances against big-hitter Anna Blinkova and world No.94 Zeynep Sönmez respectively.
Aside from Gadecki, all five Australian women received wildcards into the main draw.
AATC – Australasian Academy of Tennis Coaches, Providing Quality Coach Education Globally. Led by Industry Leaders and Tennis Business Owners who understand your journey. 🌏 Learn Locally, Coach Globally 🚀 Start Your Coaching Journey Today. Enrol Now at www.aatc.tennis
Comments