Lots of Questions (and one answer) in the wake of the 2025 Australian Open

By Richard Osborn

Sometimes a Grand Slam can pose more questions than it answers. This might just be the case with the 2025 Australian Open.

In some instances, it was business as usual. Take Jannik Sinner. The rangy, top-ranked Italian carried his world-beating form into the new year, capturing his second straight trophy in Melbourne Park and his third major singles title overall. And the 23-year-old baseliner did so in dominant fashion. Sinner would drop just two sets through six rounds to set up a high-profile No. 1 vs. No. 2 showdown with Germany’s Alexander Zverev in the final. (A rematch of their epic 2024 Cincinnati Open semifinal clash.) He went on to score a straight-sets 6-3, 7-6 (4), 6-3 victory, one that promptly sparked Sinner-Djokovic comparisons.

“He’s very, very similar to Novak when he was at his best,” said Zverev. “They barely miss.”

A disheartened Zverev, the 2021 Cincinnati Open titlist, fell to 0-3 in major singles finals. Sinner, in direct contrast, is now a perfect three-for-three with Grand Slam trophies on the line. (Answer: No, 2024 was no fluke for Jannik Sinner.)

But as the spoils went to the top seed Down Under, there was plenty of shakeup, too. Third seed Carlos Alcaraz of Spain, with whom Sinner split the four biggest titles in the sport in 2024, was ousted by record 10-time AO champion Djokovic in the quarterfinals, 4-6, 6-4, 6-3, 6-4, only to see the All-Time Slam King unable to finish his semifinal against Zverev due to a hamstring tear. (Question: At 37, can Novak Djokovic withstand a prolonged injury layoff? Can he bounce back and add to his record big-title count?)

And upsets? There were plenty, especially at the hands of the young guns. Next Gen ATP Finals champ Joao Fonseca of Brazil, an 18-year-old qualifier with jarring talent, became only the second teen since 1973 to defeat a Top-10 opponent in his Grand Slam main-draw debut when he ousted ninth seed Andrey Rublev in the opening round, 7-6(1), 6-3, 7-6(5). Fellow qualifier Learner Tien of the U.S., 19, stunned three-time finalist Daniil Medvedev in a five-set thriller, 6-3, 7-6(4), 6-7(8), 1-6, 7-6(7), in Round 2. American Alex Michelsen, 20, looked fearless in a first-round 7-5, 6-3, 2-6, 6-4 takedown of 11th seed Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece. (Question: Is this youth movement poised for a takeover on the men’s tour?)

Not that the upsets were exclusive to the newcomers. Just as he was settling in at a career-high No. 4 in the ATP rankings, American Taylor Fritz fell victim to 38-year-old vet Gael Monfils of France in the third round, 3-6, 7-5, 7-6(1), 6-4. (Cincinnati Open fans will recall Monfils’ shock second-round dismissal of Alcaraz last year at the Lindner Family Tennis Center.) It would be Tommy Paul and Ben Shelton, not Fritz, who carried the Stars & Stripes into the quarterfinals. (Shelton would go on to reach the semifinals, and Paul would soon crack the Top 10 in the ATP rankings.)

Like Sinner, two-time defending champion Aryna Sabalenka would return to the title tilt in Melbourne, although a third straight Daphne Akhurst Memorial Cup wasn’t in the cards for the world No. 1. As it turns out, the 2024 Cincinnati Open champ couldn’t withstand the groundstroke onslaught of a player who had been waiting for her big-stage breakthrough since she first surfaced as a 14-year-old magazine-cover wunderkind back in 2008: Madison Keys. (Question: Will others follow Keys’ lead in 2025 in challenging the Aryna Sabalenka-Iga Swiatek duopoly?)

Thanks to some patience (and a renewed outlook on life both on and off the court), Keys, now 29, appears to be finding her best form at an age when many players begin to slow down. Asked after her 6-3, 2-6, 7-5 defeat in the final if Keys’ strokes were the fastest she had ever faced, Sabalenka took a moment to consider her response.

“Today, yes,” said Sabalenka, who’s faced plenty of powerballers in her decade-long career, Serena Williams included. “Today, it was very fast, very deep, very aggressive. There was a great level from her. If she can continue playing the way she was playing today, she can be in the Top 5.”

Keys, only two months removed from her wedding vows (she married her coach, former ATP pro Bjorn Fratangelo, in November), has now won 12 straight matches in 2025, a streak that also led to the Adelaide title. Her impressive AO run saw her oust three Top-10 opponents, including a current and former No. 1 in Sabalenka and Swiatek.

The 2019 Cincinnati Open champion’s coach-husband thinks this is just the beginning.

“I think there’s a lot of room for improvement, and that’s the scary part, in my opinion,” said Fratangelo. “To do it at 29, almost 30 years old now, I think is pretty cool as well. It shows that your career doesn’t have to end. You can always look to improve, and that’s what the greats do.”

Keys rose to match her career-high No. 7, meaning that the U.S. suddenly has four players inside the Top 10 in the WTA rankings. Keys joined compatriots Emma Navarro, 2024 Cincinnati Open finalist Jessica Pegula, and 2025 United Cup MVP Coco Gauff.

If resurgence was a theme in the women’s draw, then Paula Badosa shouldn’t be overlooked. The 2021 Indian Wells winner has struggled with injury setbacks the last few years, plummeting from a career-high No. 2 in 2022 to No. 140 in May 2024. She finally began to find some traction last summer, the turning point being a semifinal finish at the Cincinnati Open.

“My goal is to be back on where I was before,” said Badosa at the time. “I feel I belong there.”

It now appears that she is indeed back. At the Australian Open, she upended Gauff, 7-5, 6-4, to reach the final four, her best-ever showing at a major. (Question: Is a healthy Paula Badosa once again a Top-10 mainstay?)

As we get into the meat of the 2025 campaign – heading from the Southern California desert to Miami to the red clay of Europe and beyond, eventually landing on the sprawling, transformed grounds of the Cincinnati Open – these questions and more will begin to be answered. (Just don’t be surprised if a few more surface along the way.)