The 2025 season is on the horizon which means one thing for tennis fans – it will soon be time for the Australian Open.
As is usually the case players do not have to wait long before their first chance to claim a Grand Slam title.
The action will commence at Melbourne Park on January 12, with Jannik Sinner and Aryna Sabalenka entering the tournament as the defending champions.
They will be joined by 12 players who will compete at the Australian Open with the use of their protective ranking, after being out of the game for some time.
The 12 players who will play at the 2025 Australian Open with a protected ranking
The likes of Sinner and Sabalenka will be the favourites to claim glory at the 2025 Australian Open.
They will be challenged by the likes of Carlos Alcaraz, Alexander Zverev, Coco Gauff and Elena Rybakina, all of whom have yet to claim the title Down Under.
But there will be other players for them to think about, as six men and six women who will enter the Australian Open with a protected ranking have now been named.
ATP
- Nick Kyrgios
- Pablo Carreno Busta
- Reilly Opelka
- Kei Nishikori
- Jenson Brooksby
- Dominic Stricker
WTA
- Belinda Bencic
- Katie McNally
- Julia Grabher
- Jodie Burrage
- Zheng Saisai
- Danka Kovinic
Rules state that players who have been injured for a prolonged period of time can apply to use their protected ranking rather than receive a wildcard.
The likes of Nick Kyrgios will play at the Australian Open for the first time since 2022, and veteran Kei Nishikori is looking to roll back the years and produce the tennis that helped him reach the quarter-finals in Melbourne on four occasions.
Which American players have made it to the 2025 Australian Open with a protected ranking?
Three players from the Untied States will compete at the 2025 Australian Open with their protected ranking.
The two players from the ATP Tour are Reilly Opelka and Jenson Brooksby. Opelka, currently ranked 293, had a nightmare injury run and was on the sidelines for eight months before returning in July.
He is still trying to find his groove and will aim to make a big impression in his first appearance at the Australian Open since 2022.
Brooksby missed the 2023 Australian Open but is due to compete in 2025. The 24-year-old was given an 18-month suspension until January 2025 after missing three doping tests.
However, the International Tennis Integrity Agency reduced the ban to 13 months and he is now eligible to play. However, he has not played since his last appearance at Melbourne Park nearly two years ago.
From the WTA Tour, Katie McNally is set to play at Australian Open after recently coming back from elbow surgery.
After nine months out she returned at a WTA 125k event in November, trying to improve her conditioning and match sharpness before competing at a Grand Slam.
In fact, she is now playing at an ITF event in the US, and will face Britain’s Hannah Klugman in the quarter-finals on Friday.
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