- Defending champions Jannik Sinner and Aryna Sabalenka are listed by the tennis odds as the players to beat in the 2025 Australian Open.
- Top women’s contender Iga Swiatek’s suspension is over so she is set to play in Australia.
- Novak Djokovic looks to extend his record by winning his 11th Australian Open men’s singles title.
The first of the 2025 tennis Grand Slam tournaments begin in January when the world’s best players converge on Melbourne for the Australian Open. Defending champions Jannik Sinner and Aryna Sabalenka are listed by the tennis odds as the players to beat.
Former top-ranked women’s tennis player Iga Swiatek is expected to be in the field. It will be her first Grand Slam event since serving a month-long suspension for testing positive for a drug on the WTA’s list of banned substances. She will be among the top contenders according to the Australian Open futures odds.
This will be the first time since 1999 that Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal will not be in the men’s singles main draw at the Australian Open in back-to-back years.
The Australian Open begins on Jan. 12. The main-draw entry lists have been released with every player in the top 50 in the ATP and WTA rankings in the field.
Let’s look at the Australian Open odds heading into the first of the Grand Slam tennis tournaments in 2025.
Defending Champs Top the List of Australian Open Contenders
Now that Rafael Nadal has followed Roger Federer into retirement, Novak Djokovic is the only remaining member of the “Big 3” left to battle it out against the new generation of men’s tennis stars.
Ten-Time Champion Djokovic Not the Australian Open Favorite
Djokovic has won a record 10 men’s singles titles at the Australian Open. His bid for an 11th title ended with a four-set loss to eventual champion Jannik Sinner. Djokovic had won four of the previous five men’s singles crowns in Australia.
Sinner is listed by the tennis odds as the favorite at +175 to win the title. Sinner hadn’t advanced past the quarterfinals in Australia before beating Daniil Medvedev in the 2024 final after dropping the first two sets.
Carlos Alcaraz had his best showing in Melbourne in 2024 with a quarterfinal appearance before winning the titles at the French Open and Wimbledon titles. He is priced at +240 in the Australian Open odds followed by Djokovic at +250.
When looking at the tennis odds, Medvedev (+700) and Alexander Zverev (+1000) are other men’s players to watch. Medvedev has reached the final in three of the last four Australian Opens. Since reaching the 2020 Australian Open semifinals, Zverev has reached at least the quarterfinals in 11 of his last 17 Grand Slam events. Keep that in mind when making tennis picks.
Taylor Fritz (+3300) has the shortest tennis betting odds among the U.S.-born men’s players. No American-born men’s player has won the singles title at the Australian Open since Andre Agassi in 2003.
Sabalenka Favored To Make It Three Australian Open Titles In A Row
Sabalenka became the first back-to-back women’s singles champion at the Australian Open since Victoria Azarenka accomplished the feat in 2012 and 2013. Martina Hingis is the last player to win the title three years in a row as she topped Mary Pierce, Conchita Martinez and Amelie Mauresmo in straight-set finals in 1997, 1998 and 1999.
Sabalenka (+220 in the Australian Open odds) is the favorite to make it three Australian Open championships in a row according to the tennis odds.
Iga Swiatek accepted a one-month suspension for testing positive for trimetazidine. Her failed test was on the lower level of the punishable failed anti-doping tests. She is on track to play in Melbourne. That will certainly make plenty of tennis news.
Swiatek has failed to advance beyond the fourth round in five of her previous main draw appearances in Australia. She did reach the semifinals in 2022 before being upset 6-4, 6-1 by American Danielle Collins.
Even with her struggles in Australia, Swiatek is second at +325 in the Australian Open odds.
American Coco Gauff lost just one set as she played her way into the Australian Open semifinals for the first time before losing to Sabalenka. The Australian Open odds have Gauff at +450 to become the first U.S. women’s player to win the singles title in Melbourne since Sofia Kenin in 2020.
Elena Rybakina (+900) and Qinwen Zheng (+1000) are other contenders to keep an eye on when making tennis picks.
Naomi Osaka, the 2019 Australian Open women’s singles champion, is at +2200 in the Australian Open odds. Teen Mirra Andreeva and America Jessica Pegula are both priced at +2500 to win the women’s singles title.
