Jannik Sinner, Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic are all set to each play two exhibition matches at the 2025 AO Opening Week and several of the clashes have now been confirmed.
The AO Opening Week—which takes place the week before the season-opening Australian Open at Melbourne Park—is highlighted by a series of charity matches on four consecutive nights at Rod Laver Arena.
Reigning Australian Open champion Sinner and four-time Grand Slam winner Alcaraz’s first opponents have been revealed, but organisers are yet to lift the lid on who Djokovic will face during the highly popular “A Night with Novak”.
The trio will be joined by Australian pair Alex de Minaur and Alexei Popyrin, and 2024 Australian Open women’s runner-up Qinwen Zheng.
Sinner and Alcaraz have opted not to play any official warm-up tournaments at the start of the 2025 campaign so the exhibition matches will be their only semi-competitive matches before the hard-court major.
World No 1 Sinner – whose last official match of the 2024 season was at the Davis Cup Finals on November 24 as he led Italy to the successful defence of their title – will be the first of the big stars in action at Rod Laver Arena as he will take on Popyrin on January 7.
Alcaraz and De Minaur square off the following day. World No 3 Alcaraz’s last competitive match was Spain’s 2-1 defeat to the Netherlands at the Davis Cup on November 19 while he also played exhibition matches against the likes of Ben Shelton and Frances Tiafoe in early December in the United States.
World No 5 Zheng will also be in action on January 8, but her opponent is still to be confirmed.
“A Night with Novak” will be staged on January 9, but the 10-time Australian Open champion’s opponents have not yet been revealed. The tennis great – who will get his 2025 season underway at the Brisbane International the week before AO Opening Week – is expected to play a singles match and a doubles match with “friends”.
Aryna Sabalenka, Maria Sakkari and Stefanos Tsitsipas were the “friends” who joined Djokovic on court at the 2024 edition.
The main draw for the 2025 Australian Open is also set to take place on Thursday, January 9, at Rod Laver Arena before the event gets underway on the Sunday.
Alcaraz and Sinner will return to action on Friday with the former facing Popyrin while the Italian’s second opponent is yet to be announced.
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