When is the Australian Open draw? Start time, seeds and everything you need to know
The tournament begins with the qualifying rounds on Monday 6 January
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Your support makes all the difference.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
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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