It might be cold or even snowing where you live, but it's summertime in the Southern Hemisphere and that means just one thing: It's time to get ready for long nights and overcaffeinated mornings because the 2024 Australian Open is upon us.
And there's a lot to be excited about for the year's first major.
Following a momentous 2023 season, which saw the continued dominance of some and the emergence of others, and a virtually nonexistent offseason, tennis' best players are Down Under and ready to battle for the title. While Rafael Nadal withdrew this month because of a muscle tear in his hip that cut short his comeback in Brisbane, the men's and women's fields remain chock full of stars and storylines.
Will Novak Djokovic successfully defend his title and further secure his spot in the record books? Can Coco Gauff make a run for her second career major? How will Naomi Osaka, Angelique Kerber and the other returning players do in their first Slam back following lengthy layoffs? Here's everything you need to know heading into the 2024 Australian Open.
Djokovic's drive for 25 (and beyond)
Djokovic made history at the US Open in September when he tied Margaret Court's longstanding record for most major titles of all time with 24. And somehow he's nowhere near done.
Nor, for that matter, is he shy about his ambitions.
The 36-year-old, who won three major titles in 2023, told reporters at the ATP Finals -- yup, he won that too -- that he was eyeing the elusive "Golden Slam" in 2024. Steffi Graf is the only player in history to have ever achieved winning all four major titles and Olympic gold in the same year. But Djokovic came close in 2021, and if anyone can do it, it's him, right?
Of course, that feat starts in Melbourne, where he's the reigning champion, a 10-time victor and the oddsmakers' clear favorite to win again. But he enters the year's first major after his 43-match win streak in Australia was snapped earlier this month by Alex de Minaur in the United Cup, and he mentioned wrist pain after the match. He said he thought it would be "fine" by the start of the tournament and he's been seen practicing on Rod Laver Arena this week showing no obvious signs of discomfort.
Djokovic will face a qualifier in the first round, with potential showdowns with Andy Murray or Gael Monfils in the third round, and a possible rematch against his US Open semifinal opponent Ben Shelton in the fourth. Jannik Sinner, who defeated him in one of their two matches at the 2023 ATP Finals, is a potential semifinal opponent. But with Carlos Alcaraz and Daniil Medvedev on the opposite side of the draw, Djokovic remains the man to beat.
The Coco Era
After winning her first major title at the US Open in September, Gauff looks to cement just how good she is on the hard court, no matter the continent. And so far, her 2024 season has proved that.
The 19-year-old American, who is currently ranked No. 4, opened the season with her second straight title in Auckland, New Zealand. In the final against Elina Svitolina, she came back after losing the first set in a tiebreak for an impressive 6-7 (4), 6-3, 6-3 victory. Gauff told reporters the come-from-behind win was exactly what she needed leading into the Australian Open.
"It gives me a lot of confidence," Gauff said. "It was cool to see how I was able to react under pressure, especially after losing the first set when I was up. So I'm happy with the mental fight I showed today. There are things I can improve on but overall I'm happy with the level I played this week, playing five matches."
Gauff has twice reached the Round of 16 at the Australian Open, including in 2023. But now, brimming with self-belief and crowd support wherever she goes, Gauff will try to follow up her maiden major triumph with another trophy for her growing collection -- and has never looked more ready to win at the tournament.
The comeback kids
While Nadal will not be competing, there still is an impressive list of players making their major return after a lengthy absence.
Former Australian Open champions and world No. 1s Osaka and Kerber, who have won a combined seven major singles titles, are both coming back from maternity leave and will be playing at their first Slam since 2022. Osaka, the 2019 and 2021 winner in Melbourne, made her season debut in Brisbane this month and reached the second round before losing a hard-fought thriller against Karolina Pliskova 3-6, 7-6 (4), 6-4. She will face 2022 US Open semifinalist and No. 16 seed Caroline Garcia in the first round.
Osaka's coach Wim Fissette told ESPN last month that they had few expectations for her trip Down Under, but he wasn't ruling anything out either.
"We're realistic and we don't know what to expect at this moment but Naomi is special," Fissette said. "You always have to think of her as a potential winner."
Kerber, the 2016 Australian Open champion, officially launched her comeback at the year-opening United Cup, where she won two of her five singles matches during Germany's title-winning run and appeared at times to be in vintage form.
POINT OF THE TOURNAMENT 🤯🤯🤯
— United Cup (@UnitedCupTennis) January 6, 2024
Take a bow, @AngeliqueKerber!!!#UnitedCup pic.twitter.com/x070RvuV9B
Also returning in Melbourne is 2021 US Open champion Emma Raducanu, who was sidelined for more than eight months after undergoing surgeries on her wrists and ankle. The 21-year-old reached the second round in Auckland earlier this month, where she lost to Svitolina 6-7 (5), 7-6 (3), 6-1. Currently ranked No. 299 and using her protected ranking of 103, she narrowly avoided needing to come through qualifying due to player withdrawals, and will face American Shelby Rogers in her opening-round match.
Amanda Anisimova, 22, also began her comeback this month after taking an extended break from the sport due to burnout and her mental health. She last played in May and resumed training in September. The former French Open semifinalist also reached the second round in Auckland and will get her Melbourne campaign underway against No. 13 seed Liudmila Samsonova.
Marin Cilic, the 2014 US Open champion and 2018 Australian Open finalist, is also back after a right knee injury kept him out of competition for almost all of the 2023 season. He made his return in Hong Kong this month and lost in a third-set tiebreak to Jan-Lennard Struff in his opening match but won an exhibition match over Murray earlier this week. He'll take on Fabian Marozsan in the first round.
American (red, white and) blues
We don't mean to alarm anyone, or make anyone feel old, but the American men's streak without a major title will be legally old enough to drink this year. That's right, later this year it will have been 21 years since Andy Roddick won the US Open in 2002. And, as we have for every Grand Slam tournament since, we have to ask: Can anyone snap the drought?
Well, friends, Djokovic and others will make it tough, but there are a few American men who have what it takes -- perhaps more now than there have been in the past decade-plus.
World No. 16 Shelton, who was less than 1 year old when Roddick hoisted the trophy in New York, had a breakthrough 2023 season in which he reached the quarterfinals at the Australian Open, the semifinals at the US Open and won his first ATP title in Tokyo in October. The 21-year-old lost in the first round in Brisbane, but will be playing in the semifinals at Auckland on Friday. He will look to build on his major success even more in 2024.
Taylor Fritz, who is the top-ranked U.S. man at No. 12, won two titles in 2023 and reached the quarters at the US Open to match his best-ever major result. Tommy Paul, ranked No. 14, was a 2023 semifinalist in Melbourne, reached two ATP finals and recorded a win over Alcaraz at the Canadian Open. Frances Tiafoe, the current world No. 17, reached the Australian Open quarterfinals in 2019, as well as the US Open semis in 2022, and won two tournaments in 2023. And of course, someone like Chris Eubanks, ranked No. 34, could always have a surprise run like he had at Wimbledon last year.
Can any of these men representing the U-S-of-A do it in Melbourne? Stay tuned.
Aussie, Aussie, Aussie!
Ashleigh Barty made history in 2022 when she became the first Australian to win the home Slam in 44 years. Her victory celebration will forever live rent-free in the minds of tennis fans. Barty has since retired, but there are other Australian players who hope to join her and win the tournament on home soil.
Perhaps no one has a better chance of doing that than de Minaur. During the United Cup, de Minaur defeated three top-10 opponents -- Fritz, Djokovic and Alexander Zverev -- in a five-day span. His reward? Cracking the top 10 himself for the first time.
When told of his accomplishment on court after defeating Zverev, he called it a "milestone," but he hinted he had bigger goals for himself in the immediate future.
"The job's not done," de Minaur said. "We keep improving, we keep working. It's going to be a fun Aussie summer."
The 24-year-old reached the fourth round at the Australian Open in 2022 and 2023 and with his newfound confidence and the overwhelming support of the home crowd, he could go even further this time around. No Australian man has won since Mark Edmondson in 1976.
Other Australians to keep an eye on throughout the fortnight include three-time major quarterfinalist (and the woman who literally ended Serena Williams' career) Ajla Tomljanovic, two-time Australian Open fourth-rounder Daria Saville, the defending doubles champions Rinky Hijikata and Jason Kubler, and 2022 doubles winner Thanasi Kokkinakis and his new partner Alexei Popyrin. Kokkinakis' 2022 partner Nick Kyrgios, perhaps the best-known Australian player on tour, remains sidelined with a wrist injury. He played in just one match in 2023.
The rest of the contenders
In addition to those mentioned previously, there are a number of players who can contend for Australian Open glory. Here are the remaining favorites:
Women:
Iga Swiatek: You can never count out the four-time major champion and current world No. 1. The reigning French Open winner, Swiatek's best result at the Australian Open was a semifinal appearance in 2022. But she's coming off of a WTA Finals victory to end the 2023 season, and a strong showing with Team Poland at the United Cup, and this might be Swiatek's best chance so far to claim the Daphne Akhurst Memorial Cup.
Aryna Sabalenka: The defending champion and world No. 2 -- who ever-so-briefly held the top ranking in 2023 -- reached the final in Brisbane to start the year and recorded impressive wins over Victoria Azarenka and Daria Kasatkina, among others. She will undoubtedly be looking to prove her 2023 victory was no fluke and that she's capable of defending her title.
Elena Rybakina: The 2023 Australian Open runner-up got her revenge over Sabalenka in the Brisbane final with a dominant 6-0, 6-3 victory. The current world No. 3 didn't drop a set at the event and appears poised for another deep run in Melbourne.
Jessica Pegula: The American and world No. 5 went 1-1 in singles play at the United Cup to start the year and will be playing in the semifinals in Adelaide on Friday. She's a six-time major quarterfinalist, including the last three years at the Australian Open, and will surely do everything she can to finally take her career one step -- or more -- further this year.
Ons Jabeur: The three-time major finalist has come oh-so-close to major glory over the past two years and has become more and more of a fan favorite as a result. While she's yet to play in 2024, and has never advanced past the quarters at the tournament, Jabeur called winning a major "a missing piece" and potentially her "life's mission" in a recent documentary about her life. Expect her to give everything she's got to make it happen.
Elina Svitolina: The 29-year-old reached the quarterfinals at the French Open in June -- her first major after maternity leave -- and followed it by reaching the semifinals at Wimbledon. She opened the season with an Auckland final appearance and looks to be back to her previous form -- if not even better than before. Ranked No. 1344 in April, she's now No. 23, and rising.
Men:
Carlos Alcaraz: It's hard to think of the reigning Wimbledon champion as under-the-radar, but he might be just that. He didn't play in any lead-in events this year, and hasn't won another major title following his Wimbledon success last summer. It's unclear exactly what to expect from him. Alcaraz, 20, missed the Australian Open in 2023 because of injury and reached the third round in his lone previous appearance. Despite all this, he's proved just how good he is and remains very much one to watch.
Daniil Medvedev: The two-time Australian Open finalist and world No. 3 also chose to skip any warmup events and hasn't played a competitive match since the ATP Finals in November. He will look to redeem himself in front of the Aussie crowd after a disappointing third-round finish in 2023.
Jannik Sinner: While the world No. 4 also has yet to play in 2024, perhaps no one had a stronger finish to the 2023 season. Sinner won the titles at the China Open and the Vienna Open -- beating Medvedev in both finals -- and reached the final at the ATP Finals, recording wins over Djokovic, Medvedev, Holger Rune and Stefanos Tsitsipas during the event.
Andrey Rublev: The 26-year-old arrives in Melbourne ranked a career-high No. 5, and won the title in Hong Kong to open the year. Like Pegula, he's no stranger to major quarterfinals -- he has reached that round nine times -- and will look to make the Australian Open the place where he can get past the hump and advance to his first major semifinals.
Grigor Dimitrov: The 32-year-old won his first title since 2017 this month at Brisbane. A sentimental (and Williams' sisters) favorite, Dimitrov reached the semifinals in Melbourne in -- wait for it -- 2017, so might this be the year he does it again? "I'm very tired," he told the crowd in Brisbane. "I'll take some days off but nonetheless I'm very happy to be in Australia. I'll keep on going and, yeah, onto the next one."
Bonus day of tennis
In an effort to reduce the number of late-night matches, the WTA and ATP jointly announced new rules that will be implemented at tour-level events, starting this month. But such rules don't apply to major events, so the Australian Open still will almost definitely have matches played in the wee hours of the morning, as the tournament has become known for over the years. Just ask Leyton Hewitt and Marcos Baghdatis, who played until 4:34 a.m. in the third round in 2008, or Murray and Kokkinakis, who battled past 4 a.m. in the second round last year.
That said, the tournament is trying to avoid such late ending times by starting play a day earlier this year. Instead of beginning on its traditional Monday date, the main draw gets underway on Sunday with the first round lasting three days instead of two. The French Open was the first to switch to such a schedule in 2020.
While the Australian Open organizers said the move is to "minimize late finishes," ESPN analyst John McEnroe called the decision a "pure money grab" in a call with reporters this week.
"They just found another way to make some money," McEnroe said. "I don't agree with it."