It’s that time of year already – with the ATP and WTA Tours both well underway in 2025, the first major competition on offer this year begins from Melbourne Park in the form of the Australian Open. Jannik Sinner and Aryna Sabalenka both kicked off dominant 2024 campaigns with grand slam victories down under, and they’ll be hoping to retain their titles as the world’s two leading players.
Last year’s Men’s Singles tournament from Melbourne Park saw a changing of the guard as Sinner toppled Novak Djokovic – the most successful player in Australian Open history with 10 titles – in the last four, before beating Danniil Medvedev in the decider to claim the first major of his career, going on to end the year with the US Open title and world number one ranking.
Sabalenka was the defending champion going into last year’s Women’s Singles competition, but a year between tournaments proved irrelevant as she stormed to the final before beating Qinwen Zheng in straight sets. That started a climb back towards retaking her spot as world number one from Iga Swiatek, which she completed by mirroring Sinner with the US Open title in September.
This year, Sinner and Sabalenka are undoubtedly the players to beat as the 2025 Australian Open gets underway, but with the world’s best players all arriving in Melbourne and keen to claim that crown themselves, we’re in for a fascinating few weeks of tennis from when the tournament begins on Sunday, January 12, with the final taking place on Sunday, January 26.
There’s hundreds of players and even more matches to keep tabs on at this year’s Australian Open, and The Sporting News are on hand to look at the odds, predictions and best bets to make ahead of the first major of 2025 kicking into gear.
Australian Open 2025: Odds to win men’s singles title
Having finished last year as world number one and winning two of the four major competitions – including the Australian Open – it’s no surprise to see Jannik Sinner on a +135 BetMGM moneyline lean as favourite to win the 2025 tournament at Melbourne Park. The Italian was two clear of Jordan Thompson when it came to titles won on the 2024 ATP Tour, with eight in total.
Carlos Alcaraz collected the other two majors of the year, winning the French Open and Wimbledon titles within little over a month of each other as well as at Indian Wells and the China Open. He’s second-favourite ahead of Novak Djokovic to win this year’s Australian Open, with 2024 being the first year since 2017 that the Serb hasn’t won any of the four grand slam titles.
Djokovic did, however, claim Olympic Gold for the first time in his career at the Paris Games, and he’ll still be the big name to beat should Sinner and Alcarez suffer early exits. The rest of the field is a mile behind the three favourites odds-wise, with Alexander Zverev and Daniil Medvedev back on +1000 and +1800 moneylines respectively with BetMGM.
| Player | Odds to win tournament (BetMGM) |
| Jannik Sinner | +135 |
| Carlos Alcaraz | +325 |
| Novak Djokovic | +450 |
| Alexander Zverev | +1100 |
| Daniil Medvedev | +1800 |
| Taylor Fritz | +2200 |
| Alex De Minaur | +5000 |
| Jack Draper | +6600 |
| Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard | +8000 |
| Grigor Dimitrov | +10000 |
| Joao Fonseca | +10000 |
| Sebastian Korda | +10000 |
| Nick Kyrgios | +10000 |
| Tommy Paul | +10000 |
| Andrey Rublev | +10000 |
| Holger Rune | +10000 |
Odds via BetMGM (USA), correct as of Friday, January 10 2025.
Australian Open 2025: Odds to win women’s singles title
Aryna Sabalenka dominated the women’s singles events on the WTA Tour in 2024, winning both the Australian Open and US Open on top of WTA 1000 titles at Cincinnati and Wuhan. As a result, her being way out in front on a +220 BetMGM moneyline lean to claim a third victory on the spin at Melbourne Park, after winning in 2023 and last year, won’t come as a shock.
Iga Swiatek may have lost her title as world number one to Sabalenka in 2024, but she still came away with the French Open title – her third in a row – and served a doping ban late in the year. She’s the tied second-favourite on a +450 moneyline with BetMGM alongside Coco Gauff, who won the French Open doubles on top of the WTA Finals Series, Chinese and Auckland Open.
There’s another big jump in the favourties odds to sixth and fifth seeds Elena Rybakina and Qinwen Zheng on +900 and +1300 moneyline leans respectively, with some surprise candidates, including last year’s French Open and Wimbledon finalist Jasmine Paolini, who despite being the 2025 Australian Open’s fourth seed, is down on a +4000 moneyline with BetMGM.
| Player | Odds to win tournament (BetMGM) |
| Aryna Sabalenka | +220 |
| Coco Gauff | +450 |
| Iga Swiatek | +450 |
| Elena Rybakina | +900 |
| Qinwen Zheng | +1300 |
| Karolina Muchova | +2500 |
| Mirra Andreeva | +2800 |
| Jessica Pegula | +3500 |
| Jasmine Paolini | +4000 |
| Madison Keys | +5000 |
| Naomi Osaka | +6000 |
| Ons Jabeur | +7500 |
| Emma Navarro | +7500 |
| Emma Raducanu | +7500 |
| Paula Badosa | +8000 |
| Diana Shnaider | +8000 |
Odds via BetMGM (USA), correct as of Friday, January 10 2025.
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Australian Open 2025: Best bet
- Pick: Aryna Sabalenka to win the Women’s Singles title
- Moneyline lean: +240 (FanDuel)
She’s the overwhelming favourite to take home a third Australian Open crown in a row, and given how dominant she was on the grand slam circuit last year, we can’t see many other outcomes than Sabalenka storming home to collect the first major title of 2025.
Her US Open win meant Sabalenka both started and ended 2024 ahead of the chasing pack, and having recently become the world number one, she’ll be in no mood to relinquish that title at Melbourne Park and continue her dominance of the women’s game.
Australian Open 2025: Prop bet
- Pick: Jannik Sinner vs. Carlos Alcaraz in Men’s Singles final
- Moneyline lean: +350 (FanDuel)
Like Sabalenka, these two are streets ahead of the rest in the men’s game based on last year’s grand slam showings, winning two apiece and ending 2024 as the top two players on the planet. As defending champion at Melbourne Park, Sinner is the understandable favourite, but Alcaraz has shaken up the tennis world in recent years and will also take some stopping.
Alcaraz is also on the hunt to complete a career Grand Slam at the age of just 21, having already got a French Open, US Open, and two Wimbledon titles to his name. The Australian Open is the only major the Spaniard is yet to conquer, and if these two do meet in the decider – the shortest odds of which being +350 with FanDuel – it’ll be a final for the ages.
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Australian Open 2025: Flier bet
- Pick: Qinwen Zheng to reach Women’s Singles final
- Moneyline lean: +750 (FanDuel)
China’s leading light on the circuit at the moment, Zheng is another player who had a breakout 2024, which she began by going all the way to the decider at Melbourne Park, before losing to Sabalenka in straight sets. She also ended the year by going all the way in the WTA Finals Series, losing 3-6 6-4 7-6 (7-2) to Gauff in a decider which could’ve easily gone either way.
In between those feats, however, Zheng claimed Olympic Gold in Paris, beating Croatia’s Donna Vekic in straight sets to claim a first Olympic title and establish herself as one of the world’s leading players with silverware to match. That’ll give her confidence of getting to another final in 2025, and the Australian Open is the tournament she’ll be keen to go one better in.
