AO Hacks returns in the countdown in Australian Open 2025, providing fans with player insights to maximise their day at the tennis.
The roar from one of Melbourne Park’s show courts above the hum around the grounds, and the chants that follow, are a sure-fire indication of where to head for a heaving Australian Open atmosphere.
There is good reason to believe these five players can bring an electric spectator experience at AO 2025, given their fanbase and flair.
Ben Shelton
The net-rushing left-hander has confidence in spades and a game built on a lethal serve and exceptional athleticism. Shelton has fast carved out a name as an AO favourite and it’s a mutual fondness.
He used his passport for the first time for AO 2023, a campaign which reaped his first major quarterfinal, as an unseeded player, no less.
The son of former world No.55 Bryan Shelton, the 22-year-old lapped up his formative years competing before raucous supporters on his way to becoming NCAA singles champion in the US before he turned professional.
A five-set defeat of compatriot JJ Wolf to reach that AO 2023 quarterfinal and a five-set loss to Frenchman Adrian Mannarino in the third round last year are two of his memorable crowd-rousing Melbourne Park battles.
Beatriz Haddad Maia
Brazilian fans never miss a beat in bringing the carnival-like buzz courtside when one of their own is on show.
Not since Gustavo Kuerten have they had such a name as Haddad Maia to roll up for en masse in the gold and blue at the Australian Open.
At 185cm and athletically built, the South American southpaw has given them much to celebrate in the past two seasons following a spate of injury setbacks.
The 28-year-old made waves at Roland Garros in 2023 where she became the first Brazilian woman to progress as far at a Slam since Maria Bueno in 1968 and soon after became the first woman from her nation to break into the world’s top 10.
Following a quarterfinal run at Flushing Meadows this year, expect the chants of “Ole, ole, ole, ole! Bea, Bea!” to sound out again with each round she contests in her sixth AO.
Rinky Hijikata
In fairness, most contenders from the host Grand Slam nation have the capability to whip up the crowd on any court.
But some, such as Hijikata, epitomise the underdog qualities Australians especially cherish.
At 23 years old, Hijikata was the youngest of nine Aussie men who finished 2024 in the top 100 following a season that included quarterfinals in Brisbane, Delray Beach, Queens’ Club, Winston-Salem and Hangzhou.
What the world No.73 lacks in size and power he makes up for in agility and grit, so it is no great surprise that he cites Lleyton Hewitt and Kei Nishikori as his idols.
Best known to his home crowd for a remarkable run to the men’s doubles crown in 2023 as an unseeded wildcard pairing alongside the equally humble Jason Kubler, Hijikata this year featured in an AO classic when he fell just shy of executing a five-set comeback in singles against German Jan-Lennard Struff in the opening round under lights.
Maria Sakkari
For more than a decade at Melbourne Park, Cypriot Marcos Baghdatis gave throngs of Greek fans a Grand Slam combatant before Sakkari and Stefanos Tsitsipas arrived as the next generation.
Boasting all-court aggression, Sakkari’s supreme fitness and physicality make for a spectacle when her powerful whipping forehand and serve are on song.
Following her climb to a peak of world No.3 in 2022, on the heels of major semifinals at Roland Garros and Flushing Meadows the year before, Sakkari reached the Indian Wells final last year before she shut down her season with a shoulder complaint in September.
The 29-year-old frequently cites Melbourne as her home away from home for the warmth with which she is embraced. It shapes as the ideal launchpad for her comeback from injury.
Arthur Cazaux
Highly regarded as a junior contemporary of the likes of Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner, Cazaux made the most of a reciprocal wildcard on debut at last year’s Australian Open when he reached the second week of a major for the first time.
The crafty 22-year-old sparked wild celebrations on Court 3 when he saw off 28th seed Tallon Griekspoor – it followed his upset of eighth seed Holger Rune – which made him the first wildcard in the fourth round at Melbourne Park since Lleyton Hewitt in 2012.
Cazaux sharpened his powerful serve and speedy wheels playing handball growing up before he switched his focus to tennis.
Having ended his first full year on tour at a career-best world No.63, the Frenchman is primed to make another deep run in his favourite city on tour.