The 2025 Australian Open, the first grand slam tournament of the year and the 113th running of the event, starts at Melbourne Park on Sunday with four British women, including the 2021 US Open champion Emma Raducanu, and three men, led by last year’s US Open men’s semi-finalist Jack Draper, competing in the singles. Here Simon Briggs, Telegraph Sport’s tennis correspondent, assesses their chances following Thursday’s first-round draw and our other experts make their predictions for the entire tournament.

How the Britons should fare

Emma Raducanu v Ekaterina Alexandrova (26th seed)

Out first round
It is a winnable match, but a tough one. Raducanu has not played competitively since the Billie Jean King Cup seven weeks ago because of back trouble. Her last victory over a top-30 opponent came all the way back at Wimbledon last summer. Even if she did manage to squeeze through, she would probably play the dangerous Amanda Anisimova – a woman who reached the last 16 here last year – in the second round. In three previous tilts at the Australian Open, Raducanu has never won more than a single match.

Katie Boulter (22) v Rebecca Marino

Out fourth round
Boulter’s seeding has delivered her a cushy first couple of rounds, as these things go, but life is likely to get tougher in round three against Beatriz Haddad Maia – assuming that no one springs an upset on the ultra-competitive Brazilian in the first few days. Still, it is about time that Boulter lived up to her ability at the majors, where she has never previously reached the last 16. So let’s say she gets there this time, on the basis of some strong performances at the recent United Cup in Sydney. Her opponent at that stage would probably be last year’s Wimbledon runner-up Jasmine Paolini.

Jodie Burrage v Leolia Jeanjean

Out first round
Something of a toss-up, this one. Burrage is on her way back from ankle trouble last year, and won a second-tier tournament in fine style in Dubai in December. But Jeanjean has come through qualifying here, so she has a head start in terms of acclimatisation to the local conditions.

Sonay Kartal v Jessica Bouzas Maneiro

Out first round
Like Jacob Fearnley, Kartal is playing her first overseas major. Her opponent had a solid year at the biggest events in 2024, ending Marketa Vondrousova’s Wimbledon defence in the first round and then knocking a disappointingly passive Boulter out of the US Open.

Jack Draper (15) v Mariano Navone

Out fourth round
Similar to Boulter, Draper has a soft start but his draw will ramp up quickly unless the reigning Wimbledon champion Carlos Alcaraz hits an early banana skin. They are scheduled to meet in the fourth round, and it is hard to call against Alcaraz, despite Draper’s victory over him at Queen’s last summer.

Cameron Norrie v Matteo Berrettini

Out first round
Norrie’s leftiness could prove useful against Berrettini, a man with a Lamborghini of a forehand and a Morris Minor of a backhand. But it’s hard to pick him, given that he has beaten only two top-50 opponents in the whole of last season. An upset victory would bring him up against the unpredictable Holger Rune in the second round, which doesn’t look easy either. Mind you, Norrie did ambush 11th seed Casper Ruud here last year, in what proved to be his best performance of 2024. The defining feature of that win was his uncharacteristic readiness to come forward to the net.

Jacob Fearnley v Nick Kyrgios

Out second round
Playing his first overseas major, Fearnley has an intriguing draw here. His best chance probably lies in Kyrgios coming in with an injury, which is more than plausible. Kyrgios strained a stomach muscle in Brisbane last week, and the 29-year-old is generally a creaky old man in tennis terms. The alternative scenario is that Kyrgios makes a late withdrawal and Fearnley gets a lucky loser from qualifying instead. This was exactly what happened to Norrie at the 2019 French Open, with the unhappy result that a discombobulated Norrie lost to world No 273 Elliot Benchetrit.

Tournament predictions

Men’s winner

Uche Amako: Jannik Sinner – the world No 1 will start the tournament without any warm-up matches but if he starts well, the defending champion will be tough to stop.

Sonia Twigg: Jannik Sinner – it is hard to look past last year’s champion when considering the men’s draw. Although the last few months for Sinner have been embroiled with allegations of cheating following two positive drugs tests from a massage by his physiotherapist. A hard court plays entirely to Sinner’s on-court strengths and if he is able to put the off-court noise aside, he could walk away with another Australian Open title.

Women’s winner

Uche Amako: Coco Gauff – last year’s semi-finalist will be keen to go one better in Melbourne and she is arguably in the form of her life. With her forehand much improved and serve more stable, the American is full of confidence and pushing Iga Swiatek and Aryna Sabalenka to be the world’s best.

Sonia Twigg: Aryna Sabalenka – not only is Sabalenka the two-time defending champion, but she comes into Melbourne on the back of an impressive run of form. In Australia alone she has won 27 of her last 28 matches, and if she can perform even close to her best, she could be unbeatable on the hard court. Her range of skills are suited to the surface and she has finally secured the consistency she lacked earlier on in her career.

Breakout star

Uche Amako: Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard has emerged as the biggest server in men’s tennis. The French 21-year-old broke into the top 100 in May 2024 and is now at a career high of 30. Look out for him to reach the third round at least and if he gets beyond that, he will be a problem for any opponent.

Sonia Twigg: Mirra Andreeva – while 2024 might be the breakout year for Andreeva, she could take her game one step further in 2025, starting with the Australian Open. Reaching the Brisbane international semi-final puts her in good form ahead of the tournament, and the women’s draw is often more open and unpredictable than the men’s which could allow her to reach the latter stages.

Biggest talking point

Uche Amako: An obvious one but the coaching relationship between Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray. Can the latter really make a difference? Djokovic’s sole aim is winning a record 25th grand slam. If he loses early or gets humbled by Sinner or Alcaraz, I am not convinced the partnership will last too long.

Sonia Twigg: Two of tennis’s biggest stars, Sinner and Swiatek were both charged with anti-doping breaches in 2024, and their subsequent bans – or lack thereof – have been widely criticised. Djokovic and Kyrgios weighed in on the debate with the former world No 1 complaining in December of being “kept in the dark” over the Sinner situation. Sinner’s case in particular is likely to be a key talking point during the tournament, especially as he could successfully defend his 2024 title.