And So It Begins

The 2025 season is officially here, and there are already some major storylines developing!

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

New Videos!!

We have another brand new video on our channel this week. 

It is a deep dive on one of today’s rising stars, Jack Draper!

Check it out and let us know your thoughts!

What Happened Last Week?

The 2025 season is officially in full swing!

The top players are spread across 4 events in 5 different cities.

In the United Cup, top players Coco Gauff, Taylor Fritz, Felix Auger-Aliassime, Jasmine Paolini, Iga Swiatek, Stefanos Tsitispas, & more are competing for glory for their countries.

In Brisbane, the women are contesting a 500 event, while the men’s event is a 250. 

There are two other 250 tournaments going on in Hong Kong (ATP) & Auckland (WTA).

Aryna Sabalenka, Emma Navarro, Novak Djokovic, & Grigor Dimitrov are the top seeds in Brisbane.

Madison Keys & Elise Mertens lead the way in Auckland, while Andrey Rublev & Lorenzo Musetti are the top players in Hong Kong.

Live Ranking Update: The Biggest Movers Of The Week

The first tournaments of the year are still ongoing, so there are no ranking updates yet. 

But check back next week for the biggest movers!

Major Tournament Updates

The 2025 season is here!

All of these events are underway, but still in the early stages:

• ATP/WTA United Cup - Perth & Sydney (December 27 - January 5, 2025)

• ATP/WTA Brisbane International (December 30 - January 5, 2025)

• ATP Hong Kong Open (December 30 - January 5, 2025)

• WTA ASB Classic - Auckland (December 30 - January 5, 2025)

Watch Out For These Players

Felix Auger-Aliassime:

Felix is always one to watch, and he already has a signature win to start his 2025 campaign. 

The Canadian defeated world #5 Taylor Fritz in the United Cup over the weekend. Fritz was in control up 6-4 5-3 before Felix fought back for a 4-6 7-5 6-3 win. 

If he can keep that type of form up, he will no doubt be challenging for big titles and a return to the top 10.

Xinyu Gao:

This 27-year old from China raised some eyebrows with a grueling 3-set win over #17 Beatriz Haddad Maia in the United Cup. It took nearly 3 and a half hours, but Gao, who took Qinwen Zheng’s place on the team this week, got the win 5-7 6-4 7-5.

She followed that win up with another big one over #80 Laura Siegemund, also in three sets, 6-1 3-6 6-3.

We’ve seen several WTA players start to play their best tennis in their late 20s. 

Could Gao be the next big thing? 

It’s too early to tell, but if so, you heard it here first!

Off The Court

Halep Injured, Will Miss Australian Swing:

It turns out we won’t actually see Simona Halep take the court at the Australian Open this year.

The Romanian announced on Thursday that she is not ready to return to the court quite yet, citing knee and shoulder pain.

Halep was scheduled to play in Auckland and Australian Open qualifying, but will instead begin her season in her home country at the Transylvania Open in February.

Osaka Talks Retirement:

Naomi Osaka revealed in a pre-tournament press conference in Auckland that if her results don’t improve, she won't “hang around” in tennis much longer. 

She went on to say that she was “humbled” by her 2024 results. 

“I have a lot of respect for all the players on tour, but the point of my life that I’m at right now, if I’m not above a certain ranking, I don’t see myself playing for a while.”

Naomi also said that she would rather spend time with her daughter if her career is not where she thinks it would be.

Osaka will begin her season in Auckland looking to improve on a 2024 season that saw her go 22-17 and nearly knock off then-no. 1 Iga Swiatek at Roland Garros.

Novak: Murray Offers a “Unique Perspective” As Coach:

In a recent interview, Novak Djokovic revealed what it has been like working with Andy Murray as his coach.

Novak said that Andy “has a unique perspective on my game as one of the greatest rivals I’ve had. He knows the pros and cons of my game.”

Djokovic is opening his season in Brisbane, but Murray will not be in the coaching box until the start of the Australian Open. 

The partnership will extend until the end of the Aussie Open, and then the pair will decide if they will continue working together. 

It will be very interesting to see the impact Andy has on Novak, for better or for worse.

What’s The Dill???

Welcome to the What’s The Dill portion of this week’s newsletter, brought to you by SuckerPunch! Every week we will feature the best question(s) asked on our “What’s The Dill” post which can be found under the Community tab on the Courtside Tennis YouTube channel.

This week’s question comes from @aarnavmehta-r1b:

This fan wants to know what Djokovic’s chances at a 25th major are, and who might be among the favorites to make some noise at the Australian Open.

For the first question, I am going to defer to our previous newsletters. We’ve gone over this very question in several prior newsletters, so I encourage everyone to go check those out for the answer! 

Spoiler alert: I think he has a really good chance if the motivation and fitness levels are high.

As for the second question, there are so many players who are capable of deep runs, it’s just a matter of which ones actually will.

The favorites are defending champions Jannik Sinner & Aryna Sabalenka. Both have yet to take the court down under, but are surely in great form, and will look to repeat. For Sabalenka, it would be a 3rd consecutive AO title.

There are also a few unknowns right now that could change things significantly. Novak Djokovic, as I just mentioned, is taking serious steps towards his goal of winning a 25th slam by hiring Andy Murray as his coach and playing a warm up tournament in Brisbane. The Aussie Open has been his most successful slam, so the stage is set for something special.

Nick Kyrgios’ return to the tour is a huge factor as well. All eyes will be on where he lands in the draw.

Then you throw in the other usual contenders Carlos Alcaraz, Taylor Fritz, Coco Gauff, Iga Swiatek, etc.

It is so hard to make predictions with these types of questions nowadays, which is what makes the pro tour so exciting right now.

Regardless of what happens, the Australian Open is shaping up to be one of the most exciting in recent years.

Also before I forget, make sure to check out some of my favorite products from SuckerPunch linked below! Use code ‘Courtside-Punch’ for 25% off!

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Highlights Of The Week

Check out some highlights from the start of the 2025 season!

One Last Thing!

Once again, If you guys want your questions answered in next week’s newsletter check out the post in the Community tab of the Courtside Tennis YouTube channel. You can also email us, drop them in the discord, or leave a comment on our most recent Youtube video. Make sure to put Courtside Digest before the comment so that way we can find it more easily. Thanks!