AO Hacks returns in the countdown in Australian Open 2025, providing fans with player insights to maximise their day at the tennis.
Among the world’s best players competing at the season’s first Grand Slam tournament will be a strong local contingent poised to turn heads.
Following a memorable year for Australian tennis in 2024, keep an eye on these Aussies who are poised to generate plenty of buzz at AO 2025.
Alex De Minaur
A career-best season for the world No.9 has him ready to hit the ground running at AO 2025.
In 2024, De Minaur advanced to the quarterfinals at three of the four Grand Slams and reached the ATP Finals for the first time.
The Australian Open remains the only major at which he is yet to reach the final eight. He was agonisingly close at AO 2024, losing to Andrey Rublev in a five-set epic in the fourth round.
With form behind him, could this be the year Demon makes that long-awaited deep Grand Slam run on home soil?
He’s won 13 of his past 18 matches at Melbourne Park, reaching the last 16 for the past three years.
Olivia Gadecki
The 22-year-old had a breakout season in 2024, reaching her first WTA final in Guadalajara in September – a run proving she can wreak havoc at AO 2025.
Gadecki defeated four top 100 players during that scintillating week in Mexico, including a straight-sets victory over world No.11 Danielle Collins.
Gadecki has since entrenched herself in the world’s top 100, taking over the mantle of Australia’s No.1 woman from Daria Saville thanks to her performance in Guadalajara.
It means she will make her first Grand Slam main-draw appearance without a wildcard at next month’s Australian Open.
Alexei Popyrin
Chants of ‘Poppy’ have rung around Melbourne Park on numerous occasions, most notably when he defeated Taylor Fritz at John Cain Arena in 2023.
And people across the rest of the world began to understand the hype in 2024.
Popyrin sat as low as world No.63 in late July, before hitting red-hot form. The 25-year-old won his first Masters 1000 title in Montreal, before shocking Novak Djokovic at the US Open.
He now sits at world No.24 and will be seeded at the Australian Open for the first time in 2025.
Now with more security in the draw and form on his side, Popyrin has a chance to send shockwaves through the tournament.
Ajla Tomljanovic
Tomljanovic has proven to be one to watch when she’s fit and firing and in 2024 she showed glimpses of her best.
The former world No.32 broke into the top 100 for the first time since a knee injury kept her sidelined for most of 2023. She reached the Birmingham final in June before prevailing in Hong Kong in October, her first title in 11 months.
A three-time Grand Slam quarterfinalist, Tomljanovic knows how to perform on the big stage. The 31-year-old has caused a few upsets at majors, including the defeat of Wimbledon 2024 champion Barbora Krejcikova at the same Slam in 2022.
A fan favourite at the Australian Open, Tomljanovic is set to have a big crowd behind her at AO 2025.
Nick Kyrgios
The human highlight reel is back at Australian Open 2025, playing his first Grand Slam event since the 2022 US Open.
Destined to draw a crowd, Kyrgios is a staple on the John Cain Arena stage and relishes the energy the fans generate on that court. He holds a 12-3 win-loss record on the court he wants dubbed ‘Kyrgios Court’.
One of only two Australians to defeat each member of the ‘Big Three’, Kyrgios knows how to cause an upset.
And with the increased likelihood of drawing a big name first up given his recent inactivity and unseeded status, the 2022 Wimbledon finalist could be one to watch.
Daria Saville
Injury has plagued Saville in recent times, but she is quickly returning to form.
Last month, Saville won her first title in seven years at the Gold Coast International, which bodes well as she looks ahead to the Australian Summer of Tennis.
Saville’s recent form could see her emulate some of her best performances in Melbourne, where the former top-20 player reached the fourth round in 2016 and 2017.
Always one to draw a big crowd, any noise Saville makes at Australian Open 2025 will reverberate around Melbourne Park.
Jordan Thompson
Thompson let his form do the talking this season, with stellar campaigns both in singles and doubles making him a genuine threat at AO 2025.
He rose to world No.26 in singles after defeating some of the leading players in the game. Wins over nine top-20 opponents included Alexander Zverev, Taylor Fritz and Casper Ruud.
The upset win over Ruud sent Thompson into his first Masters 1000 quarterfinal in Paris.
His form in doubles was even better. He finished the season at world No.3 after teaming up with Max Purcell to win the US Open, and the duo also made the semifinals of their first ATP Finals campaign.
Given his form across both formats, expect Thompson to arrive at AO 2025 full of confidence.
Thanasi Kokkinakis
Thanasi Kokkinakis has a cult following at the Happy Slam.
Matches featuring the 28-year-old at Melbourne Park always create a buzzing atmosphere – and make for essential viewing due.
MORE: Kokkinakis welcomes extension of AO’s partnership with Piper-Heidsieck
At Australian Open 2024 Kokkinakis sent John Cain Arena into a frenzy when he defeated Austrian Sebastian Ofner in the first round. He has also taken sets off Grigor Dimitrov and pushed Stefanos Tsitsipas to five sets in previous campaigns.
Form is on Kokkinakis’ side after he beat Ben Shelton in the Davis Cup quarterfinals in Malaga – winning the longest Davis Cup tiebreak in five years – then taking world No.34 Matteo Berrettini to a deciding set in the semifinals.
If Kokkinakis brings his best to the big stage once more, he’ll be an opponent no seed will wish to see nearby in the draw come January.
Emerson Jones
During the 16-year-old’s last appearance at Melbourne Park, Jones advanced to the girls’ singles final.
And she enjoyed a stellar 2024 campaign, becoming Australia’s first ITF Junior World Tour Finals champion in October – after her two junior Grand Slam finals appearances – and rose to junior world No.1.
She also enjoyed success on the Australian Pro Tour, winning her maiden ITF event in Sydney.
Crowned Female Junior Athlete of the Year at the 2024 Australian Tennis Awards, Jones will play at Australian Open 2025 as a main-draw wildcard, reward for her thrilling progress in 2024.
Talia Gibson
Like Jones, Talia Gibson announced herself as a star of the future in 2024, and earned an AO 2025 main-draw wildcard.
Now, she is ready to make herself known on the world stage.
Dominant on the Australian Pro Tour circuit throughout the year, Gibson’s season at one point featured a 17-match winning streak. This form helped her skyrocket up the WTA rankings; she rose 161 spots to world No.140 at season’s end.
The 20-year-old will compete in her second Australian Open main draw after her debut in 2023.