Party In The AUS

We have crowned the first major champions of 2025! Plus, there are some more big coaching shifts.

As always, there is plenty to discuss, so let’s get into this week’s topics!

New Videos!!

We have two brand new videos on our channel this week!

One is a full recap of the first week of the Australian Open, and the other is about one of the best new social media features of the year’s first major!

Check them out and let us know what you think!

What Happened Last Week?

Jannik Sinner & Madison Keys are Australian Open champions! 

 Sinner virtually cruised through the second week of the tournament, only dropping 1 set from the 4th round on. 

In the final, top seeded Sinner took down #2 seed Alexander Zverev, who was in his third major final, in straight sets 6-3 7-6 (4) 6-3. 

This was Sinner’s second straight Aussie Open title and further cemented his place at #1 in the world.

Keys had more of a difficult road to the title.

Madi had to come back from a set down against #28 Elina Svitolina in the quarterfinals & against #2 Iga Swiatek in the semis. Oh, and she had to save a match point against Iga too. AND this was after defeating #6 Elena Rybakina in 3 sets in the fourth round.

That was all BEFORE she played world #1 and 2-time defending champion Aryna Sabalenka in the final. 

Did I mention that that match went three sets too? 

In the end, Keys claimed her first major title with a thrilling 6-3 2-6 7-5 win over Sabalenka. This slam run will be hard to top, and will certainly be remembered for quite a long time.

Congrats Madi & Jannik!    

Live Ranking Update: The Biggest Movers Of The Week

Lorenzo Sonego made a big jump this week thanks to his quarterfinal showing at the Australian Open. He is up 20 spots to #35 and getting closer to his career high ranking of #21.

Ben Shelton is continuing his rise up the rankings. The 22 year-old American is up to #14, 1 spot shy of his career high.

Madison Keys is back into the top 10 at #7 following her first major title. There are now FOUR American women inside the top 10.

 #3 Coco Gauff, #6 Jessica Pegula, & #9 Emma Navarro join Keys among the top players in the world.

Paula Badosa is back into the top 10 at #10 after an inspiring run to the Australian Open semis. It’s great to see Badosa playing well and healthy. She has dealt with so many injury setbacks, but is one of the hardest hitters on tour at her best. 

Major Tournament Updates

Here’s a quick look ahead to what's coming up this week:

• WTA Singapore Tennis Open (January 27 - February 2)

• WTA Upper Austria Ladies Linz (January 27 - February 2)

• ATP Montpellier Open (January 27 - February 2)

• Davis Cup Qualifiers 1st Round (January 31 - February 2)

In Linz, Karolina Muchova, Elina Svitolina, Maria Sakkari, & Ekaterina Alexandrova are the top seeds.

The 250 event in Singapore will feature Anna Kalinskaya, Amanda Anisimova, Elise Mertens, Emma Raducanu, Taylor Townsend and more.

Andrey Rublev, Felix Auger-Aliassime, Flavio Cobolli, Stan Wawrinka, Borna Coric, & Chris Eubanks will all be in action in Montpellier.

26 nations will be competing in 13 home-and-away ties this coming weekend for Davis Cup.

Watch Out For These Players

Ben Shelton:

This 22 year-old American has been steadily improving since he first turned pro 2 years ago.

Shelton has already been to 2 Grand Slam semifinals, and also made the 4th round of Wimbledon last season. Pair that with 2 titles and that’s a pretty solid start to a career. 

If he can play some of the big points just a little bit better, he will no doubt have many more opportunities to get to a slam final.

Paula Badosa:

This 27 year-old from Spain has endured so much in terms of injuries. 

Badosa has been as high as #2 in the world and has a 1000 level title under her belt (2021 Indian Wells). 

She has frequently been compared to Maria Sharapova because of her feisty attitude and huge ground strokes. 

When healthy, Badosa is among the best players in the world, and if she keeps playing like this, another deep run at a slam is surely in the cards this season.

Off The Court

Djokovic, Murray Will “Cool Off” Before Deciding Future:

Novak Djokovic revealed that he and Andy Murray will take their time before deciding what the future holds for them.

Djokovic made it to the semifinals of this year’s Australian Open before retiring after losing the first set to Alexander Zverev.

Neither are certain what’s next, with Djokovic saying “we are still hot-headed and disappointed, so it’s kind of hard to switch the page and start talking about what the next steps are”.

Murray worked with Djokovic in the build up to and during this year’s first major tournament.

Raducanu Splits With Cavaday; Seeking 7th New Coach:

Emma Raducanu is again looking for a new coach as her and Nick Cavaday have ended their partnership due to Cavaday’s ongoing health issues. 

The pair had worked together for the past 14 months, which saw Emma return to the top 60 following multiple wrist and ankle surgeries.

Cavaday announced the split on Friday, saying “at this moment in time, it’s important for me to spend some more time at home and prioritize getting back to full health, which is hard to do with the extensive calendar”.

Raducanu has previously been coached by Nigel Sears, Torben Beltz, Dmitry Tursunov, & Sebastian Sachs in addition to Cavaday. 

Goran Ivanisevic, who just became available after splitting from Rybakina’s team, could be a good fit for the Brit…

Billie Jean King Cup Finals Moving To China:

The 2025, 2026, & 2027 editions of the Billie Jean King Cup Finals will be held in Shenzhen, China. 

The announcement was made by the International Tennis Federation (ITF) last Thursday. It will be the first time that China has hosted the event. 

The last time the BJK Finals were in Asia was back in Tokyo in 1989 when the event was still called Fed Cup.

The ITF said that the move supports the tournament’s goal of fostering cultural exchange, celebrating diversity and strengthening connections between athletes and fans worldwide.

Last season, the Finals were held in Malaga, Spain. Jasmine Paolini led Italy to its fifth title. 

China will now qualify for the Finals automatically as host, and Italy will also as defending champion. 

The dates for the 2025 Finals have not yet been announced.

Highlights Of The Week

Check out some of the highlights from the finals of the Australian Open!