Coco Gauff, Jannik Sinner, and Others Lead the Pack in Scheduling Crunch at Australian Open 2025

After last year’s edition, this season’s Australian Open 2025 will kick off on a Sunday too. But it seems there’s not going to be a huge attraction for tennis fans arriving in Melbourne’s Rod Laver Arena, John Cain Arena, and Margaret Court Arena on Day 1 and Day 3. Why so? You might say there are matches involving stars like World No.1 Aryna Sabalenka, No.2 Alexander Zverev, and Olympic Gold medalist Qinwen Zheng. But what about the other big names like Novak Djokovic, Carlos Alcaraz, Jannik Sinner, Nick Kyrgios, Coco Gauff, and Iga Swiatek? Well, they all have been stacked in a single day’s play!

It may lead to a lack of interest. But how? Compared to Day 1 (Sunday), it appears that Day 2 (Monday) may be tightly packed. Nearly all the major tennis stars namely Djokovic, Alcaraz, Sinner, Swiatek, Gauff, and Naomi Osaka may end up playing on Monday. Not to mention the likes of Stefanos Tsitsipas, Victoria Azarenka, Nick Kyrgios, and also Jessica Pegula.

Reputed insider Jose Morgado threw light on this expected scheduling situation after the Australian Open’s official account on X teased Day 2’s expected order of play. Per Morgado, it appears that no big player will step on the court on Tuesday – Day 3 of the event. Simply put, the first round stretching to a third day may go dry. Especially when it comes to attracting eyeballs. It’s because all major stars will have played their first-round matches by then.

Well if Zverev plays Sunday, Djokovic, Alcaraz and Kyrgios have to play Monday as well. So nobody plays Tuesday? Doesn’t make sense. https://t.co/7QsakpyHBE

— José Morgado (@josemorgado) January 10, 2025

Later, the journalist came up with another post, reflecting on what a chaotic Day 2 may look like in case all popular stars step on the court on Monday. “Playing on (manic) Monday at the #AusOpen: Sinner Alcaraz Djokovic Kyrgios Tsitsipas Gauff Pegula Swiatek Osaka Bencic vs. Penko Wow,” he wrote. An official Order of Play for Day 2 is, however, yet to be revealed.

Meanwhile, tennis stars are busy preparing for their campaigns for the first Major of 2025. But some of them have decided to ditch the old look while going for a fresh one. Take for example Carlos Alcaraz, who’s been sporting his new haircut since arriving in Australia a few days back. But there’s also a major reason behind his haircut!

Carlos Alcaraz reveals Melbourne’s heat forced him to go for a haircut ahead of Australian Open 2025

This is the time in Australia when the temperatures soar. Sometimes, they can go over 40 degrees as well. Given that the extreme conditions of Melbourne will be in play during the Australian Open as well, former World No.1 Carlos Alcaraz decided to get rid of his hair. During an exhibition match, with Aussie Alex de Minaur, the Spaniard revealed the reason for his decision.

Speaking to former WTA pro Andrea Petkovic in a post-match interaction he said, “I discussed with my barber that when I get a haircut… three days later it’s grown out. So I have to go more often. It’s a New Year.” Continuing further, the Spaniard added, “I knew I was gonna be here in Australia. 40 Degrees. It’s summer here. I thought I needed something new. I already did this haircut a few years ago and I just like it. Probably this year is gonna be a new Carlitos in style.”

Coming to the result of this exhibition face-off, it didn’t fare well for the four-time Grand Slam champion. De Minaur defeated him by 7-5, 4-6, 10-5. But it will likely not affect Alcaraz much, as his focus remains on lifting his first Australian Open trophy. He made it very clear last month when he said, “I am a very ambitious person and I want to win the Australian Open to complete the career Grand Slam,” as reported by Eurosport on December 14, 2024. Will he eventually pull it off? Only time will tell.

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