AO Hacks returns in the countdown in Australian Open 2025, providing fans with player insights to maximise their day at the tennis.
Feisty to candid on-court dispositions, niche fashion choices, unorthodox shot-making or any combination of these traits is often all it takes to trigger a player building a hardcore fan base.
These six cult favourites, each with a legion of loyal followers, may not be the biggest names at Australian Open 2025, but are well worth scoping out at Melbourne Park.
Jelena Ostapenko
While technically not the unheralded name her peers on the list might be, Ostapenko could still be considered a bit of an unsung hero.
A Grand Slam champion at Roland Garros eight years ago, she has risen as high as world No.5 in singles in 2018 and last year as high as world No.4 in doubles.
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The Latvian has carved out a following for her relentless aggression – she has some of the quickest hands in the business – which can leave crowds in awe when she hammers winners from any corner of the court.
Her competitiveness is unapologetically take-no-prisoners and the peculiar facial expressions that result – from disgruntled to delight – are the stuff of social media legend.
In recent years, her quirky self-designed tennis kits have taken her cult stardom to another level having adequately fulfilled the brief for unique.
Thomas Machac
When cap-back Machac sent Carlos Alcaraz packing in the Shanghai Masters quarterfinal in October, the beaten Spaniard declared the 24-year-old’s sustained shot-making as that of a top-five opponent.
It is not merely his athleticism and all-court game grabbing attention. The Czech is among a handful of ATP players who have re-popularised short shorts, an unintentional nod of sorts to his legendary countryman Ivan Llendl in the 1980s.
This is a man with style on and off the court. While he prefers to remain private on whether he has rekindled his long-term relationship with doubles No.1 Katerina Siniakova after the pair won Olympic mixed doubles gold in Paris, Machac is more forthcoming about his penchant for Australian designer suits – along the lines of Peaky Blinders.
Rebecca Sramkova
The athletic Slovak sporting a distinct triple-tied long blonde ponytail and yellow bandana became a far more familiar sight in the final quarter of 2024.
That is inevitable when you keep winning. For a player born with little sight in her left eye and having battled injuries for the best part of six years, it has been an impressive ascent.
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At 28, Sramkova is by no means a new kid on the block, but since departing qualifying at Flushing Meadows she has found another gear. Her 18 match wins at tour level in those two months are more than any other woman in that span – and they have catapulted her from outside the top 130 to inside the top 50.
The spearhead of a surprise-packet Slovak team, Sramkova was unbeaten in upsets of the United States, Australia and Great Britain to reach the Billie Jean King Cup final.
Zizou Bergs
The trouble with being named after a superstar athlete is living up to it when the time to shine arrives.
Named after French football legend Zinedine ‘Zizou’ Zidane, the Belgian admitted when he began to climb the ranks as a tennis player that name association went a long way to boosting his popularity when competing in neighbouring France.
It did Bergs no harm when he won through qualifying and reached his maiden Grand Slam third round at Roland Garros this year. Not to be outdone by his adopted French fans, the 25-year-old’s Flemish Belgian ties raised the stakes when they brought the party courtside during his second-round defeat of Maximilian Marterer.
Bergs, who is a part-time model and runs a popular TikTok account, sang to the crowd in Dutch “Where is the party?” to which the crowd duly responded, “Here is the party.”
After winning over the crowd during a three-hour battle with Stefanos Tsitsipas on RLA at AO 2024, Bergs is primed to bring the party to Melbourne Park again in January.
Taylor Townsend
Brimming with personality, good vibes and creative match-winning celebrations – particularly at her home Slam, the US Open – Townsend has long been a popular presence on social media and on court, for her fluid, lefty, serve-volley game.
A girls’ singles and doubles champion way back at Australian Open 2012, the former No.1 junior, who cites Martina Navratilova as her tennis idol, took time to hit her straps.
Time away from tennis in 2021 and 2022 to give birth to her son, Adyn, contributed to her delayed rise but the 28-year-old has realised her potential in the past two seasons, especially on the doubles court.
After losing her first two Grand Slam doubles finals in three sets, Townsend finally triumphed this year alongside world No.1 doubles player, Katerina Siniakova, at Wimbledon, where her emotional celebrations echoed her authenticity.
Alexander Bublik
Nick Kyrgios is widely considered the leader here, but there is another perplexing trick-shot extraordinaire ready to rattle his opponent’s resolve and leave the crowd scratching their heads at some entirely left-field shots.
Bublik is impossible to predict and while an underperformer at the Slams – he has made just one fourth round in 24 attempts – he has strung together enough consistency at tour level to climb as high as world No.17 in May this year.
No stage of a match or tournament is immune. An underarm serve or four, a fake overhead drop shot, tweeners, a racquet-handle smash, even untying the chair umpire’s shoelace – they’re all part of his repertoire.
The Kazakhstani is a straight shooter too and makes no secret of his disdain for playing on clay and for having to practise extensively.