Tim Henman was incorrect in his Grand Slam predictions at the start of the 2025 season.
All four of the men’s Grand Slam titles have been won by either Carlos Alcaraz or Jannik Sinner, as has been the case now for the past two years.
While on the WTA Tour, all four major titles have been won by different women, culminating in Aryna Sabalenka winning the US Open for a second consecutive year.
There was one new Grand Slam champion, with Madison Keys winning the Australian Open, but Henman predicted two other players to make that breakthrough.
Tim Henman thought Alexander Zverev and Qinwen Zheng would win a Grand Slam in 2025
Former world number four Henman is a commentator on current tennis goings-on, and at the start of the 2025 season was asked to predict if he thought there would be any new Grand Slam champions this year.
When speaking to Sky Sports Tennis, Henman backed both Alexander Zverev and Qinwen Zheng to win Grand Slams for the first time.
“Zverev to win a Slam and Zheng to win a Slam,” Henman said at the time, before going on to speak about Zheng’s run at the WTA Finals last year. “Zheng is so important for the women’s game and that’s why the WTA Finals tour finale between Zheng and Coco Gauff in Riyadh was so special.
“Coco Gauff being from America and so popular against Zheng with all her fans in China. Bringing those two together in the WTA Final for what was an incredible match over three hours and 7-6 in the third. That’s a rivalry we would like to see more of.
“We were very fortunate to be able to sit courtside and yes you get to see her power and her ball striking and her speed, but let’s not forget her mentality. Her concentration is relentless. There is no let-up.
“There were a couple of bangs on her racket with her shoe but that emphasises what a perfectionist she is. She wants to play every point to the best of her abilities. You look at her game and she has ingrained so many good habits.
“I still think she can play a bit closer to the baseline. Her preparation on her forehand is a little bit late, that’s where she can be rushed. I think that’s emphasised by playing a lot on clay, but her serve and the way she is hitting her spots really is a huge weapon.”
When speaking more about Zverev, Henman suggested that he would need to be more aggressive to combat his new challenge of Alcaraz and Sinner.
“In the context of his journey, for quite some time he was up against Federer, Nadal and Djokovic and as they moved out of the game he might have felt… now it’s my time,” added Henman.
“But it’s not as Sinner and Alcaraz have overtaken him and that is the new benchmark, that is his new challenge. 2025 will be so interesting to see whether he can step up, be more aggressive and win one of the big ones.”
Zverev reached the Australian Open final in his first major tournament of the season, where he was beaten by Sinner, but his Grand Slam results since then have not been so impressive.
The German reached the quarterfinals of Roland Garros, before Zverev lost in the first round of Wimbledon and the third round of the US Open.
Zheng has also struggled, with the 2024 Australian Open finalist failing to surpass the quarterfinals of any major tournament.
The Chinese star was then forced to miss the US Open, with Zheng undergoing elbow surgery and having only just returned at the China Open.
| Grand Slam | Alexander Zverev | Qinwen Zheng |
| Australian Open | Final | Second Round |
| Roland Garros | Quarterfinal | Quarterfinal |
| Wimbledon | First Round | First Round |
| US Open | Third Round | Did not play |
Who did Tim Henman predict would end 2025 as world number one?
While Henman did not get his prediction right about new Grand Slam champions, he does have an opportunity to get something correct this year.
In a separate interview with Eurosport ahead of the 2025 season, Henman was asked many different questions, including who he thought would end the season as world number one.
Henman predicted that Alcaraz would end the year as ATP world number one, while backing Iga Swiatek to do so on the WTA Tour.
Alcaraz ended Sinner’s 65-week run as world number one after winning the US Open, and is over 2,500 points ahead of his rival in the live race, suggesting that Henman is likely to be correct.
The race for world number one on the WTA Tour is less straightforward, despite Sabalenka currently leading Wimbledon champion Swiatek by 2,792 points in the rankings.
That gap is significantly closer in the live WTA race, and Swiatek has an opportunity with Sabalenka missing the China Open.
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