Yahoo Sports Australian Open - schedule, seedings & how to follow
The world's best players will compete in the first Grand Slam of the season when the Australian Open begins on Sunday.
Aryna Sabalenka and Jannik Sinner are the defending singles champions at the hard-court tournament.
Meanwhile, record 10-time men's champion Novak Djokovic targets more history - this time with Andy Murray in his corner.
Here are all the key details.
When is the Australian Open 2025?
The tournament starts on Sunday, 12 January at Melbourne Park and concludes on Sunday, 26 January.
The Australian Open moved to a Sunday start instead of Monday for the first time last year, with the tournament extended to 15 days in an attempt by organisers to avoid late-night finishes.
Qualifying, where players must win three matches to reach the main draw, began on Monday, 6 January.
The women's singles final takes place on Saturday, 25 January, with the men's final concluding the tournament on Sunday, 26 January.
How can I follow the Australian Open on the BBC?
There will be daily live text commentaries on the BBC Sport website and app, as well as reports, analysis and features.
BBC 5 Sports Extra will have radio coverage every day from 07:00 GMT with Tennis Breakfast, which will include live commentary of the night session at Melbourne Park. The men's and women's singles finals will be on 5 Live.
BBC tennis correspondent Russell Fuller will be joined by Gigi Salmon, Abigail Johnson and David Law during the fortnight. Summarisers across the tournament will include Pat Cash, Annabel Croft, Daniela Hantuchova and Leon Smith.
Who are the key players to watch?
World number one Sabalenka will attempt to become the first woman since Martina Hingis in 1997-99 to win three consecutive Australian Open singles titles.
The Belarusian beat Zheng Qinwen in straight sets in last year's final and geared up for her title defence by winning the Brisbane International earlier in January.
Former top-ranked women's player Iga Swiatek will make her first Grand Slam appearance since serving a one-month doping suspension.
Leading men's player Sinner triumphed over Daniil Medvedev in his first major final at last year's tournament, before winning the US Open title in a hugely successful 2024.
The Italian, 23, also lifted the season-ending ATP Finals and secured back-to-back Davis Cup titles, but remains embroiled in an ongoing doping controversy.
Serb Djokovic, 37, targets an outright record 25th major at his favourite tournament - and will do so with the support of new coach and former rival Murray.
Reigning French Open and Wimbledon champion Carlos Alcaraz will aim to complete a career Grand Slam - winning all four majors - at the age of 21.
Nick Kyrgios is also aiming to make his first Grand Slam appearance since September 2022, but the Australian is struggling with an abdominal strain.
Is Raducanu playing?
Emma Raducanu is one of four British women with a guaranteed main draw entry in the singles tournament.
The 2021 US Open champion is joined by British number one Katie Boulter, Sonay Kartal and Jodie Burrage at Melbourne Park.
Britain's top-ranked men's player Jack Draper, the world number 15, will hope to improve on his second-round exit last year, having reached his first major semi-final at the US Open in September.
The men's draw will also feature Cameron Norrie and 23-year-old rising talent Jacob Fearnley.
When is the Australian Open draw?
The Australian Open singles draw took place on Thursday, 9 January.
There are 128 players in each singles draw and 32 will be seeded.
How do seedings work?
Seedings are used to separate the top players and ensure they do not meet in the early rounds at a Grand Slam.
They are based on a player's world ranking, which is determined by the points players pick up at tournaments.
What time do the matches take place?
Melbourne is 11 hours ahead of the UK.
The day sessions start at 11:00 local time (midnight GMT) on the outer courts and at 12:00 (01:00 GMT) on the show courts.
The night sessions - which are held on Rod Laver Arena, Margaret Court Arena and John Cain Arena - begin at 19:00 local time (08:00 GMT).
The women's and men's singles finals start at 19:30 (08:30 GMT).
What is the prize money?
The Australian Open will offer record prize money in 2025.
The total amount of prize money on offer at Melbourne Park will be 96.5m Australian dollars (£48m) - an increase of nearly 12% on 2024.
The prize money increases in every round. The men's and women's singles champions will each take home 3.5m Australian dollars (£1.7m).
The winners of the men's and women's doubles competitions will earn 810,000 Australian dollars (£400,000).
Australian Open 2025 schedule
12-14 January: Men's and women's singles first round
14 January: Men's and women's doubles begins
15-16 January: Men's and women's singles second round
16 January: Mixed doubles begins
17-18 January: Men's and women's singles third round
19-20 January: Men's and women's singles fourth round
21-22 January: Men's and women's singles quarter-finals
21 January: Wheelchair tournament begins
23 January: Women's singles semi-finals
24 January: Men's singles semi-finals
25 January: Women's singles final
26 January: Men's singles final
