Key Points
- The two-week tournament runs from 14 January until 28 January.
- Australian Alex de Minaur is the best local hope, after cracking the world top 10 last week.
- Fans can watch the highest number of Australian players in action since the 1990s.
Serbian star Novak Djokovic is chasing his 11th Australian Open title, but a wrist injury has several players hoping to steal the world number one's crown.
The other top four seeds - Carlos Alcaraz, Daniil Medvedev and Jannik Sinner - will be joining a stellar lineup of Australian faces hitting the courts over the next 15 days.
The pool of home grown talent beats records set in the 1990s, with eight men receiving direct acceptance into the down under Grand Slam alongside several wild card entries.
Alex De Minaur leads the Australian male contingent of 13 competitors. The 24-year-old reached a major milestone last week, after becoming the first Australian to be in the top 10 since Lleyton Hewitt in 2006.
Meanwhile, backhand queen Ajla Tomljanović is among five Aussies to have qualified for the women's singles draw, a 36-year high.
Here's a closer look at the Australians to watch at this year's Australian Open:
Alex de Minaur leads tough draw for Aussies
Sydney-born Alex de Minaur, known as a speed demon on the court, is the Aussie favourite to topple Djokovic's dream of a 25th grand slam after snapping his 43-game win streak during the United Cup earlier this month.
The 24-year-old has had several high profile matches over the last fortnight to boost his confidence, including beating world no. 2 Alcaraz in an exhilarating pre-Australian Open exhibition match on Thursday.
Australia team captain and former world no. 1 Lleyton Hewitt has been a mentor to young gun Alex de Minaur, who is now the first Aussie male to rank top ten Hewitt. Source: AAP / Trevor Collens
De Minaur has a tough start to his campaign against former world no. 3 Milos Raonic, but then has two winnable matches before meeting No. 5 seed Andrey Rublev in fourth round; and no. 4 Sinner in the quarterfinals.
Other Australian contenders also face a difficult draw, with either a tricky first match or a win in the first round leading them to a tough second round opponent.
There are two all-Australian contests in the opening round, Sydneysiders world no. 47 Jordan Thompson and world no. 63 Aleksandar Vukic will face off on Monday.
Australia has several top 50 male players, including Jordan Thompson, Max Purcell and Alexei Popyrin (left to right). Credit: AAP
Both matchups will go onto a challenging second round, facing no. 7 Stefanos Tsitsipas or no 1. Djokovic respectively.
Young gun Rinky Hijikata, best known for challenging and scaring Nadal in the 2022 US opening round, needs to beat Germany's No. 24 Jan-Lennard Struff to progress.
Other unseeded stars include Wimbledon doubles champion and no. 45 Max Purcell versus Mate Valkusz and Thanasi Kokkinakis will go up against Sebastian Ofner.
Crowd favourite Nick Kyrgios was forced to pull out of the 2024 slam due to persistent wrist and knee injuries, but fans will hear his commentary throughout the tournament.
Ajla Tomljanović ready for AO comeback
Croatian-born Ajla Tomljanović has used a protected ranking of world no. 35 to enter the draw, after a knee injury wiped out most of her 2023 season.
Prior to her injury Tomljanović was a grand slam quarterfinalist at both Wimbledon and the US Open in 2022, with on the eve of her retirement.
After nine months off the courts, she won the biggest title of her career at the WTA 125 MundoTenis Open in Brazil in November.
The 30-year-old, who became an Australian citizen in 2018, will face Croatia's Petra Martic and then potentially progress to go up against either fellow Aussie Kimberly Birrell or no. 11 rival Jelena Ostapenko.
The Australian women, all who fall outside the top 100, have been dealt tough draws with four players pitted against top-50 opponents in the first round.
The grand slam will have the highest number of Australian women competing, including Taylah Preston, Kimberly Birrell and Olivia Gadecki (left to right). Source: AAP
Daria Saville is matched up against no. 70 Magdalena French, but faces a potential of either former Australian Open champion Naomi Osaka or no. 16 Caroline Garcia in round 2.
Promising 18-year-old Taylah Preston will make her Grand Slam debut against 19th seed Elina Svitolina.
Aryna Sabalenka will be defending her title from top ranked pole Iga Świątek, serving powerhouse Elena Rybakina and US teenage sensation Coco Gauff.
