Coco Gauff faces Sofia Kenin in the first round of the Australian Open on Sunday Jan. 12, 2025 (1/12/25) at Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Victoria.
Fans can watch a majority of the action throughout the tournament for free via a trial of DirecTV Stream or fuboTV, or via a subscription to Sling TV. Select windows can also be viewed on ESPN+.
In a sport that thrives on rivalries and drama, Coco Gauff and Iga Swiatek are proving to be tennis’ most compelling duo. Gauff, the reigning US Open champion, recently weighed in on Swiatek’s controversial provisional doping ban and her struggles to maintain dominance in the wake of the scandal. But the American prodigy didn’t mince words, offering a mix of empathy and competitive fire as their rivalry continues to heat up.
After a whirlwind 2024 season, Swiatek found herself in murky waters. The Polish superstar served a symbolic one-month doping ban after a provisional suspension raised eyebrows across the tennis world. Though her ban was short-lived, it left a mark on her reputation.
Swiatek returned to action at the United Cup, posting commanding victories over players like Elena Rybakina and Karolina Muchova. However, her momentum came to a screeching halt in the semifinals when Gauff stunned her with a decisive 6-4, 6-4 victory. This marked the second consecutive win for Gauff over Swiatek, narrowing their head-to-head record to 11-3.
When asked about Swiatek’s confidence levels and the fallout from the doping scandal, Gauff offered a measured response.
The Pole has endured a difficult few months since winning her fourth French Open title in June.
Excluding the bronze medal she won at the Paris Olympics in August, the 23-year-old has not won a title since and she lost the number one ranking.
But Swiatek’s worst moment of 2024 came when she tested positive for banned substance trimetazidine, which has received a divided response from those in the tennis world.
Following her positive drug test Iga Swiatek was given a one-month suspension that lasted from September 12 to October 4, though she successfully appealed the verdict.
MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — It was a meaningless hit-and-giggle session, a mixed doubles exhibition at Rod Laver Arena just for fun and charity in front of fans a few days ahead of the Australian Open, so Coco Gauff was calling out how fast she would try to hit some serves.
Her guesses, and her deliveries, kept getting closer to 200 kph (125 mph) on Thursday evening, and when the 2023 U.S. Open champion and her partner, Andrey Rublev, had taken that game, one of their opponents, Hall of Famer Lleyton Hewitt, acknowledged, “Great serving.” Gauff’s response? “Thanks. I’ve been working on it.”
Yes, she has — on her serving and her forehand — and the strides made in both of those areas are among the reasons Gauff is considered one of the few women ready to challenge two-time defending champion Aryna Sabalenka for the title at Melbourne Park when the year’s first Grand Slam tournament begins Sunday (Saturday EST).
Jannik Sinner shouldn’t have too much trouble handling Nicolas Jarry of Chile, but Jarry can be sneaky good and there was a little while last year when he was playing top-10 tennis.
From mid-February to mid-May, Jarry made a final in Buenos Aires, a quarterfinal in Miami and another final in Rome. He’s a big man with a big serve and a bigger forehand. When he gets those two working together he can be a handful.
He did little in the second half of the year though. Sinner should be able to manage it all just fine, especially on a hard court.
Life should be fairly comfortable until the business end of the tournament after that. Holger Rune, an enigma at this point, is the highest seed in Sinner’s quarter; Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic wouldn’t come around until a final.
Aryna Sabalenka suffered the same fate as Coco Gauff, drawing a former Grand Slam champion. She will play Sloane Stephens in the first round.
Coco Gauff overpowered Iga Swiatek on Sunday to help the USA win the mixed teams United Cup title by beating Poland in the final.
World No. 4 Taylor Fritz sealed the USA’s second title in the 18-team competition after edging Hubert Hurkacz 6-4, 5-7, 7-6 (4) in the men’s singles at Sydney’s Ken Rosewall Arena.
The Americans added to their triumph in the inaugural tournament in 2023, while Poland fell agonizingly short for the second straight year.
All eyes were on the blockbuster women’s singles match, with Gauff and Swiatek having enjoyed unblemished records through to the final.
World number three Gauff had only won two of her previous 13 matches against Swiatek, but claimed a confidence boosting victory at the season-ending Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) Finals.
Coco Gauff roared past Iga Swiatek to inspire team USA Sunday before Taylor Fritz sealed the United Cup title with victory over Poland’s Hubert Hurkacz in Sydney.
Gauff opened with a statement 6-4, 6-4 win over Swiatek in 1hr 51min of hard-hitting tennis to fire a warning shot ahead of the Australian Open.
Big-serving Fritz then battled through against Hubert Hurkacz 6-4, 5-7, 7-6 (7/4) to spark wild celebrations as the Americans won the mixed-teams cup for the second time in three years after winning the inaugural event in 2023.
But they endured back-to-back heartache, with their 2024 United Cup final loss to Germany now followed up by a loss to the USA.
Swiatek looked forward to playing against Gauff, but she just fell short in their singles opener, losing 6-4, 6-4.
Taylor Fritz then beat Hubert Hurkacz to secure the trophy, representing the USA’s second United Cup success.
Not only did Swiatek lose to Gauff, she worryingly took a medical time out during the match, having been suffering with a leg injury throughout the tournament.
The Pole has since provided an update, saying in her post-match press conference: “Well, for sure, I wasn’t fresh today, but I’ll be good. So nothing happens.”