The Australian Open officially opens the tennis season even though it starts earlier. This year, the first Grand Slam of the year kicks off on January 12, though this is the opening week, while the main draw begins on January 18 at the famous Melbourne Park, the venue of this major since 1988.

There are plenty of contenders for the title in both categories. Who will win? We have some suggestions, though, knowing the history of this tournament, nothing is certain.

The prize money in Melbourne is astonishing: $111.5 million, a 16% increase over the previous year. The winners in both respective competitions earn $4,150,000, while the runners-up take $2,150,000.

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Men’s Competition

All eyes are pointed towards Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz. Even though Novak leads the way in Australia, the two young lions are top favorites here, noting that according to the AO odds, Sinner has better chances than the Spaniard, as he comes here as a back-to-back winner. He still hasn’t washed away his doping scandal, but that isn’t affecting his odds or prospects. Alcaraz is good, though we saw him oscillate on a couple of occasions last year.

Novak can’t be underestimated, as he routinely defeats all his rivals except the two above. Yet against them, the GOAT stands no chances right now. He hasn’t been as confident as in the past, but people have to realize that this guy is 39 years old.

Other guys in the mix are Felix Auger-Aliassime, Alexander Zverev, and Taylor Fritz. Daniil Medvedev is there as well, the same as Ben Shelton and young Joao Fonseca.

One of these guys should step up to challenge Sinner and Alcaraz. Many suggest that Fonseca and Shelton might be the perfect dark horses here, due to their age, but also, fantastic performances on hard surfaces.

To be honest, we are a bit tired of seeing Medvedev and Zverev as some sort of favorites in big tournaments, because they always fail to deliver and show up.

Ladies’ Competition

Aryna Sabalenka had a chance to win the triple last year, but Madison Keys prevented the Belarusian from doing so. She is a huge favorite to win the title this year and leads the way in the ladies’ competition, ahead of Iga Swiatek, another player who has been linked to doping scandals in the past. As a fun fact, both she and Sinner won Wimbledon in 2025, becoming the first pair of doping-convicted tennis players to win the same Grand Slam.

Odds favor Sabalenka, but the 6-time Grand Slam champ from Poland is very dangerous.

After these two come a bunch of contenders who more or less have the same prospects to win the trophy: Elena Rybakina, Coco Gauff, Amanda Anisimova, and Mirra Andreeva.

However, ladies’ tennis often brings more surprises and sensations than men’s tennis, as evidenced by historical records. For instance, the reigning champion, Keys, is set at 25/1 to win, and it wouldn’t be strange to see her at the top of the competition once again. Last year, Keys was around the 10th spot on the contender list.

All eyes are on Coco Gauff. The pundits expect her to explode this year and win multiple Grand Slams. At 21, she has two majors, which isn’t bad at all, but the expectations surrounding her since she stepped up on the stage are massive.

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