2025 Australian Open Preview: (Tennis)

Another gruelling season of tennis is officially underway in the year of 2025 and we've arrived at the first of four "Grand-Slam" events in the Australian Open. Luckily for us, we get to watch a bundle of great matchups that are poised to happen over the course of this tournament. After the bracket was announced, this could go down as an absolutely epic Aussie Open. Get your popcorn ready, this is about to be a wild ride! 

1.) Over the past year now, Jannik Sinner (+110 to Win) has solidified himself as the top contender in the Men's tennis world. He's an outstanding ball striking that has the speed to cover the entirety of the court. He's the most consistent player on tour, and will look to kick off his 2025 with another great performance. He won this tournament last year after coming all the way back from down two sets to love in the final against Daniil Medvedev after beating Novak Djokovic in the Semi Finals. 

2.) Although the tennis world is still wowed constantly by the likes of Carlos Alcaraz (+350 to Win,) he had a bit of a disappointing year last year considering how talented this man is. Alcaraz is still one of the best players in the world and one of the most talented players that this game has ever seen. He's lightning quick and has the ability to completely take over matches when he gets hot. I expect him to have a great tournament here to start his season off well. 

3.) The GOAT of tennis, Novak Djokovic (+600 to Win) is a bit of a sleeper for this year's Australian Open. Despite winning this title 10 times over the course of his career, Djokovic is aging, which is why his odds slowly decrease year after year. Having said that, Novak is still one of the top players in the game. His longevity has separated him from the rest and that is why I, and many believe that he is the greatest to ever play the game. He's definitely capable of winning this tournament, but he needs to be at his best and cannot have any lapses against the best of the best in the later stages. 

1.) In the women's game at the moment, Aryna Sabalenka (+240 to Win) has taken over. The current #1 overall player in the world is a power machine. She hits the ball with so much ferocity that it's hard for her opponents to even think that they have a chance at the beginning of the match. Even with the tough draw, compared to normal, I believe that she will cruise through to the later stages of the tournament and end up winning this tournament overall just like she did a year and two years ago. 

2.) Coco Gauff (+500 to Win) is the best American Women's tennis player in the world at the moment and there's no question about it. She's one of the best overall players, and definitely has a shot at winning this tournament. Coco changed her coach once again going into this year and has gained confidence since losing in the 4th round of the US Open in 2024. Now, she's won just one Grand Slam over her young career so far, but this one is going to be a difficult task. 

3.) Talking about Women's tennis, one cannot go without mentioning the name of Iga Swiatek (+500 to Win.) Her will/determination to simply just win is unmatched in the tennis world. Although she might have fallen off a bit since a year and a bit ago now, Swiatek is still always going to be one of the top players in the Women's game. I believe that she has as good of a chance at winning this tournament as anyone if she's playing her best tennis. It's going to be necessary for her to stay focused throughout the tournament though. 

Men's: 

Jannik Sinner (+110)
Carlos Alcaraz (+350)
Novak Djokovic (+600)
Alexander Zverev (+1000)
Daniil Medvedev (+1600)
Taylor Fritz (+3000)
Alex De Minaur (+5000)
Jack Draper (+6000)
Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard (+7000)
Stefanos Tsitsipas (+8000)

Women's: 

Aryna Sabalenka (+240)
Coco Gauff (+500)
Iga Swiatek (+500)
Elena Rybakina (+1000)
Qinwen Zheng (+1500)
Mirra Andreeva (+3000)
Karolina Muchova (+3000)
Naomi Osaka (+4000)
Emma Navarro (+5000)
Madison Keys (+5000)

Overall, this should be a very good tournament. So many great potential matchups and many new contenders that believe this is their time to shine. Having said that, I expect the pure ball strikers that have power to thrive here in Melbourne. The surface is Hard Court, which makes the ball move a lot faster and also leads to more aces. That being said, this is the perfect event for someone like Aryna Sabalenka to go out and do her thing. On the men's side of things, it's harder to predict a winner if one doesn't want to just go straight to the two favorites. Even though it's laying quite a lot of juice, playing on the Big Three against the field might be the best play. Here are my 2025 Australian Open Best Bets.

Best Bets:  
1: Aryna Sabalenka to Win >> +240
2: Naomi Osaka to Win 2nd Quarter >> +1100
3. Big Three vs. The Field (Jannik Sinner, Novak Djokovic, Carlos Alcaraz) >> -500