The 7 former Australian Open champions in 2025 draw: ft Djokovic, Sinner, Sabalenka
Seven former Australian Open champions are competing across both singles draws in 2025.
That includes reigning champions Aryna Sabalenka and Jannik Sinner, though a few ex-winners will perhaps hope returning to a happy hunting ground can spark some much-needed magic.
Aryna Sabalenka – women’s singles (2023-24)
Having lifted the title in 2023 and 2024, can Sabalenka become the first woman in 26 years – and just the sixth in the Open Era – to win three straight women’s singles titles?
Few will forget Sabalenka winning her first major at the tournament two years ago, battling past Elena Rybakina in a three-set thriller to triumph and banish her previous Slam demons.
The Belarusian then returned twelve months later and did not drop a set on her way to a second straight title, downing Zheng Qinwen in the final to kickstart the best season of her career.
In this year’s event as the world No 1 and a recent Brisbane champion, top seed Sabalenka is many people’s favourite to reign once again.
Jannik Sinner – men’s singles (2024)
While Sabalenka is the women’s favourite, reigning men’s singles champion Sinner is also favoured by most to defend his title successfully.
A year ago the Italian stunned the wider tennis world with an epic triumph in Melbourne, rallying from two sets down in the final against Daniil Medvedev to triumph.
The ensuing twelve months have not been without controversy but he has largely been dominant, winning the US Open and ATP Finals on his way to compiling a 73-6 record for 2024.
Sinner chose not to play a warm-up event heading into the Australian Open – though the same approach served him well last year.
Naomi Osaka – women’s singles (2019, 2021)
After a difficult end to a promising week in Auckland, can Osaka regain full fitness, channel past glories, and go deep in Melbourne?
The Japanese is a four-time Grand Slam singles champion and two of those titles have come at the Australian Open, in 2019 and 2021.
Osaka’s three-set victory over Petra Kvitova in 2019 was one of the best Grand Slam finals in recent memory, while she defeated Jennifer Brady in straight sets for her second title two years later.
The former world No 1 has not won a title since her 2021 victory in Melbourne and retired injured in the Auckland Open final this past weekend.
If she is fit, she will be a significant dark horse.
Australian Open News
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Novak Djokovic – men’s singles (2008, 2011-13, 2015-16, 2019-21, 2023)
The greatest champion in Australian Open men’s singles history, Djokovic targets a record-extending 11th title in 2025.
It has been 16 years since the Serbian beat Jo-Wilfried Tsonga to lift his first major title in 2008, starting his dominance not only in Melbourne but across the wider tennis world.
Djokovic has beaten now-coach Andy Murray in four finals and Rafael Nadal in two finals, also dispatching Dominic Thiem, Daniil Medvedev, and Stefanos Tsitsipas to hit his ‘perfect 10’.
This is his most successful major but he suffered a rare blemish on his record in 2024, his 33-match win streak in Melbourne snapped by Sinner – who handed Djokovic a first semi-final loss at the tournament.
Djokovic ultimately failed to win a major in 2024, and he’ll be determined to return to winning ways in 2025 – and win a record-extending 25th Grand Slam.
Sofia Kenin – women’s singles (2020)
Half a decade on from her triumph Down Under, Kenin will be looking to kickstart a long-awaited return to the top of the sport in Melbourne.
Kenin’s run to the title in 2020 was extraordinary, the 14th seed defeating Coco Gauff, Ons Jabeur, top seed Ashleigh Barty, and former world No 1 Garbine Muguruza in consecutive matches to lift the title.
The US star would reach a career-high of fourth and also made the French Open final that year, though the following years have brought about their fair share of struggles.
Kenin was beaten in the second round of her title defence in 2021 and has lost round one every year since then, and has failed to make a Slam quarter-final since her Roland Garros run.
Her ranking has wavered dramatically in recent seasons and she is currently 81st in the world.
Stan Wawrinka – men’s singles (2014)
In the draw having received a wildcard, 2014 champion Wawrinka shows no signs of ending his career quite yet as he approaches his ‘Big 4-0’ in 2025.
The Swiss star’s 2014 triumph in Melbourne was unforgettable, with the eighth seed stunning Djokovic in an epic quarter-final before beating Nadal in a four-set final.
Wawrinka followed that up with French Open and US Open triumphs and has remained a stalwart on the ATP Tour in recent seasons despite never fully bouncing back from injury issues in 2017.
His appearance in this year’s men’s singles draw represents his 19th showing in Melbourne, ranking him among the top five men of the Open Era, and he will draw a huge crowd wherever he plays.
Victoria Azarenka – women’s singles (2012-13)
It has been well over a decade since Azarenka was at the peak of her powers and winning consecutive titles, though the Belarusian is still the 21st seed after a solid 2024 season.
The former world No 1 thrashed Maria Sharapova to lift her first title in 2012, before rallying from a set down to defeat Li Na in the final 12 months later.
Azarenka has battled plenty of peaks and troughs on and off the court in the following years though Melbourne has remained a solid hunting ground for her.
The Belarusian reached further quarter-finals in 2014 and 2016, while she was a surprise semi-finalist in 2023; Azarenka reached the fourth round in 2024.
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