Gauff draws potential Kenin, Osaka, Pegula quarterfinal path at 2025 Australian Open

Jan. 9 (UPI) -- American tennis star Coco Gauff could face Japan's Naomi Osaka and Americans Sofia Kenin and Jessica Pegula along a path into the quarterfinals of the 2025 Australian Open, according to Thursday's draw.

Main draw play for the first Grand Slam of the tennis season will be held from Sunday through Jan. 26 in Melbourne, but broadcasts will start Saturday in the United States because local time at the tournament is 16 hours ahead of Eastern Standard Time.

Tournament coverage will air on ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPN Deportes and stream on ESPN+. Between the men's and women's singles circuits, 256 competitors will compete in the main draw. The winners will take home $2.1 million apiece.

Italian Jannik Sinner, the No. 1 player in the ATP Tour singles rankings, is favored to win the men's title. No. 3 Carlos Alcaraz of Spain, No. 7 Novak Djokovic of Serbia, No. 2 Alexander Zverev of Germany and No. 5 Daniil Medvedev of Russia are the other men's favorites.

No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus -- the two-time defending champion -- is the women's favorite, followed by No. 2 Iga Swiatek of Poland, Gauff, No. 6 Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan and No. 5 Zheng Qinwen of China.

Sinner, the defending champion, will play No. 34 Nicolas Jarry of Chile in his first match. The Italian will attempt to win his second-consecutive Grand Slam title, following his 2024 U.S. Open triumph.

No. 13 Holger Rune of Denmark and No. 18 Hubert Hurkacz of Poland are the top players he can meet through the first four rounds. No. 8 Alex de Minaur of Australia, No. 11 Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece and No. 19 Karen Khachanov of Russia are among the players he could face in the quarterfinals.

His potential semifinal foes include Medvedev -- last year's runner-up -- No. 9 Andrey Rublev of Russia, No. 16 Lorenzo Musetti of Italy and Americans Taylor Fritz (No. 4), Frances Tiafoe (No. 17) and Ben Shelton (No. 21).

The lower half of the men's draw also is filled with potential for major matchups.

Alcaraz and Djokovic could meet in the quarterfinals. No. 12 Tommy Paul of the United States and No. 6 Casper Ruud of Norway are among the top players Zverev could meet in the quarterfinals for the right to face Djokovic or Alcaraz in a potential semifinal.

On the women's side, Sabalenka will start her title defense against No. 84 Sloane Stephens of the United States. The Belarusian is looking to become the first woman since Martina Hignis in 1999 to win three-consecutive Australian Open singles crowns.

Zheng -- last year's runner up -- and No. 13 Diana Shnaider of Russia are the top players Sabalenka could meet in the quarterfinals. Gauff -- the highest ranked (No. 3) American woman or man in tennis -- Pegula and No. 12 Paula Badosa of Spain are the highest-ranked players Sabalenka could see in the semifinals.

Gauff will start her Australian Open campaign with a first-round match against Kenin (No. 81), Osaka (No. 50), No. 17 Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia and No. 421 Belinda Bencic of Switzerland -- a former Olympic gold medalist -- are among the players Gauff could face in the fourth round.

Pegula and Badosa are among Gauff's potential quarterfinal foes.

No. 8 Emma Navarro of the United States, No. 9 Daria Kasatkina of Russia and No. 32 Maria Sakkari of Greece are among the top players Swiatek could see in the quarterfinals. Her potential semifinal foes include No. 4 Jasmine Paolini of Italy, Rybakina, No. 11 Danielle Collins of the United States, No. 16 Beatriz Haddad Maia of Brazil and No. 20 Madison Keys of the United States, a two-time semifinalist.

Australian Open schedule

All times EST

Saturday

First-round coverage from 10 p.m. to 3 a.m. on ESPN2

Sunday

First-round coverage from 3 to 7 a.m. on ESPN2, from 7 to 11 p.m. on ESPN and from 11 p.m. to 2 a.m. on ESPN2

Monday

First-round coverage from 3 to 7 a.m. and 11:35 p.m. to 3 a.m. on ESPN2

Tuesday

First-round coverage from 3 to 7 a.m. and second-round coverage from 9 p.m. to 2 a.m. on ESPN2

Wednesday

Second-round coverage from 3 to 7 a.m. and 9 p.m. to 2 a.m. on ESPN2

Jan. 16

Second-round coverage from 3 to 7 a.m. and third-round coverage from 9 p.m. to 2 a.m. on ESPN2

Jan. 17

Third-round coverage from 3 to 7 a.m. and 9 p.m. to 2 a.m. on ESPN2

Jan. 18

Third-round coverage from 3 to 7 a.m. and Round of 16 coverage from 9 p.m. to 2 a.m. on ESPN2

Jan. 19

Round of 16 coverage from 3 to 7 a.m. on ESPN and from 9 p.m. to 2 a.m. on ESPN2

Jan. 20

Round of 16 coverage from 3 to 7 a.m. on ESPN and quarterfinal coverage from 11:30 p.m. to 1 a.m. on ESPN2

Jan. 21

Quarterfinal coverage from 3 to 7 a.m. and 9 p.m. to 1 a.m. on ESPN2.

Jan. 22

Quarterfinal coverage from 3 to 7 a.m. on ESPN

Jan. 23

Women's semifinal coverage from 3:30 to 7:30 a.m. and men's semifinal coverage from 10:30 p.m. to 1 a.m. on ESPN

Jan. 24

Men's semifinal coverage from 3:30 to 6 a.m. on ESPN

Jan. 25

Women's final coverage at 3:30 a.m. on ESPN; Encore presentation at 9:30 a.m. on ESPN2

Jan. 26

Men's final coverage at 3:30 a.m. on ESPN; Encore presentation at 9:30 a.m. and 8 p.m. on ESPN2