The A-Z of a record-breaking Australian Open to remember

From Alex (de Minaur) to the Bahamas, from the crowds to Djokovic – this is the A to Z of the highlights and talking points of the 2025 Australian Open.

A: The only threat to Alex de Minaur here was a potential Carlos Alcaraz title, but the Spaniard lost in the quarter-finals. Our “Demon” reached the last eight as well – for the first time at Melbourne Park, and fourth major in a row – and there was a groundswell of support for Australia’s top player.

B: There was lots of competition (booing, Iga Swiatek’s bakery and Paula Badosa), but how can we go past the Bahamas – American Danielle Collins’ holiday destination with her $290,000 pay cheque that she gloated about to baying Australian fans? Collins told them to “shut up” after feeling disrespected, and even added a “kiss my arse” gesture.

Danielle Collins taunts the Australian crowd following her win over Destanee Aiava.Credit: AP

C: Crowd behaviour was a daily story, even if tournament boss Craig Tiley says infractions were on par with previous years. They were generally disruptive against Danielle Collins, and booed both Collins and Novak Djokovic, after he retired one set into his semi-final. Chair umpires repeatedly interjected, asking fans to “respect both players”, with Marijana Veljovic wagging her finger at them in one match.

D: This could have been doping, given how big of a talking point it was after the Jannik Sinner and Iga Swiatek cases last year, but Novak Djokovic will own this letter while he continues to play. The 10-time Australian Open champion beat Carlos Alcaraz on the same night he suffered a hamstring injury that eventually caused his withdrawal a round later.

E: Australia is very lucky to consistently have great players coming through, and world junior No.1 Emerson Jones looks the next one. She fell one match short of her 2024 runner-up finish in the girls’ singles, but made the doubles final and her senior main draw debut against Elena Rybakina. At 16, Jones is a mighty prospect.

Emerson Jones of Australia plays a backhand against Lilli Tagger of Austria in their junior singles quarter-final match.Credit: Getty Images

F: This year’s Open did not quite match last year’s record run of 35 five-setters, but it was not that far off. There were 18 in the first round of the men’s singles (20 in 2024), another right in the second round then three more in the round of 32 – for a total of 29.

G: Daniil Medvedev had a tournament to forget, from losing in the second round to skipping his post-match media conference, then copping a $120,000-plus fine for “inappropriate behaviour” and racquet smashing. He went hammer and tong on a net camera, saying later the GoPro was not that expensive but “very strong” because “my racquet didn’t handle the damage, but the camera did”.

H: There is an obsession with Cruz Hewitt as the talented son of dual grand slam champion and former world No.1 Lleyton, and he continues to make strides. He lost his Australian Open qualifying debut, but won his first boys’ singles match and was competitive against top seed Jan Kumstat. Lleyton shields him from the media, but we will hear more from him soon enough.

I: Iga Swiatek arrived with a relatively underwhelming record at Melbourne Park, but looked poised to change that as she raced through rounds two to the quarter-finals for the loss of only seven games. Swiatek had a match point against eventual champion Madison Keys in the semi-finals before losing a match tie-breaker.

J: Journalists and media in general are not supposed to be the story, but Channel Nine’s Tony Jones did not get the memo. Jones labelled Danielle Collins a “brat”, then tried some “banter” during a news segment, where he mocked Serbian fans on-air with his own chant: “Novak, he’s overrated, Novak’s a has-been, Novak, kick him out.” The last one, in particular, infuriated Djokovic and fellow Serbians, and he dodged a post-match interview with Nine in protest until Jones publicly apologised, which happened the next day.

K: Nick Kyrgios and Thanasi Kokkinakis both have cases, but the only true option was first-time grand slam singles champion Madison Keys. Keys endured a long wait with various ups and downs before breaking through on Saturday night. She did it the hard way, beating the top two players in the world in three-setters in the semi-finals then final.

L: The Australian Open followed other slams in removing the let-calling machine and leaving it to the chair umpire instead, which Alex Zverev called “ridiculous”, given how much technology is in operation elsewhere. The AO stood by its decision: “Chair umpires calling lets has worked well at major events around the world, including Roland-Garros, Davis Cup and the Olympics, and we have confidence in the process,” tournament referee Wayne McKewen said. Lucky loser Eva Lys was another option.

M: Andy Murray’s new union with Novak Djokovic was a source of constant fascination, from the training court to match day, where he was parked in the new coaching pod and his every action was reported upon. Whether the partnership continues beyond Melbourne is still to be determined. Gael Monfils’ dancing feet were another option.

N: Semi-finalist Ben Shelton used one of his post-match press conferences to take aim at the “negativity” in on-court interviews, saying it needed to stop. Shelton was embroiled in an awkward interview himself with Roger Rasheed after beating Monfils, but felt there were a series of examples where the interviewer missed the mark.

O: Destanee Aiava was one of the great storylines this year, emerging from qualifying to win her maiden grand slam main draw match. If her resurgence was not enough, her throwback outfits in honour of the likes of Ana Ivanovic and Maria Sharapova also captured international attention. Coco Gauff’s New Balance kit was also popular.

P: Coaching pods became a new feature on select courts at the Open, with players given the choice to have up to four high performance staff courtside. Most players took up the opportunity, although Aryna Sabalenka preferred to have her team together in the stands.

Q: China’s Zheng Qinwen is hugely popular at home, has a huge number of sponsorships and stormed into her maiden major final in Australia last year. As a result, she was rolled out alongside Craig Tiley to promote the event on the weekend before, but bombed out in the second round.

The crowd at Melbourne Park.Credit: Eddie Jim

R: Another year, more record crowds. After a record 1,020,763 fans went through the gates in the main fortnight last year, the Open had already trumped that with a day to go in 2025. That figure was 1,055,777 entering the final day of what has become a colossal event that gets bigger by the year.

S: Who else but world No.1s Jannik Sinner and Aryna Sabalenka? These two have a mortgage on the letter ‘s’ after reaching their respective singles finals as defending champions. Sinner had a challenging path there with illness and the distraction of his upcoming doping appeal, while Sabalenka was shattered not to join Martina Hingis and co. as a champion three years running.

Bernard Tomic leaves the practice court at this year’s Australian Open.Credit: Chris Hopkins

T: It takes some beating for Craig Tiley not to be automatically slotted into this spot, but Bernard Tomic gave him a run for his money. Tomic made his return to grand slam qualifying – which ended quickly – but it was this masthead’s exclusive news of the match-fixing investigation into him from 2022, including at the AO, that earned him his spot.

U: U is for upsets. Eight men’s seeds, including Andrey Rublev, Grigor Dimitrov and Stefanos Tsitsipas, departed in the opening round, while Jelena Ostapenko exited at the first stage on the women’s side. By round two, the likes of Daniil Medvedev, Zheng Qinwen, Casper Ruud, Frances Tiafoe, Hubert Hurkacz and Seb Korda joined them on the scrapheap.

V: Elena Rybakina has welcomed her former coach Stefano Vukov back into her team despite the WTA placing him on a provisional suspension, which prevents him from coaching on site. Rybakina publicly insists that Vukov has never mistreated her, and it is unclear how this situation will play out.