Back
Arun - January 13, 2025
Another tennis chapter begins with the turn of the year, and the action in 2024 has certainly given tennis fans a lot to look forward to in the new campaign. There has even been tennis already played this calendar year with the traditional curtain raisers in Australasia paving the way to the Australian Open.
For those keeping record, Jiří Lehečka lifted the Brisbane International after opponent Reilly Opelka retired in the final. On the women’s side, world number one Aryna Sabalenka secured her second title in Brisbane to get her 2025 season off to the best start possible. But what else is there to keep an eye out for in 2025?
One of the most highly anticipated tournaments of the year will take place in San Francisco, California as Team World attempt to wrestle back the crown that Team Europe won in Berlin last year. In a thoroughly enjoyable few days of tennis which went right down to the wire, there will be no better motivation for Team World as an era of new team captains is ushered in.
Bjorn Borg (Europe) and John McEnroe (World) stepped aside after the event in Berlin and will be replaced by Yannick Noah and Andre Agassi respectively. With the line-ups to be announced later in the year, fans will be keeping an eye on certain players to assess their chances of making the selections.
Although the French Open is the second Grand Slam to grace the calendar, Roland-Garros goes down as one of the major tournaments that Jannik Sinner did not win. After winning in Australia and the U.S, the Italian will have his sights firmly set on Roland-Garros and Wimbledon to complete the set.
Sweeping up all four in one season would be the ultimate aim for 2025 for Sinner, who also helped Italy to Davis Cup glory. Betting on tennis events could be easy this season if Sinner can achieve the levels of 2024, and higher. However, following Rafael Nadal’s retirement, and a waning Novak Djokovic, there are many young pretenders to the throne who will want to assert their domination in the sport for years to come.
The two Grand Slam trophies missing from Sinner’s 2024 collection can be found in Carlos Alcaraz’s trophy cabinet. After emerging victorious in a pulsating Wimbledon final in 2023 against Novak Djokovic, Alcaraz’s win over the same opponent last year was slightly more straight forward.
Wimbledon is also an event earmarked by the tennis world for the tradition around the event and the venue itself. The uniqueness of playing on grass provides an interesting challenge for the players, but can anyone dethrone the Spaniard this year?
The event in California has the reputation of being the “fifth Grand Slam” due to the immense turnout over the two weeks. With comfortable temperatures, and the occasional gust of wind to deal with, players on the tour also rank the tournament as one of their favourites. The facilities and the way players, and fans alike, are looked after are two of the main reasons why the tennis world always looks forward to this tournament.
The final official women’s event of the season is set to take place in November in Riyadh and Coco Gauff will be looking to retain the title she won in 2024 after a hard-fought battle against China’s Zheng Qinwen. In doing so, Gauff broke the record for the largest amount of prize money won at a women’s tournament, pocketing US$4.8 million for her efforts.
The season-ending finals is another event dubbed by some as the “fifth Grand Slam,” and success in Saudi Arabia in November would be the best way to end a long, arduous season.
