There is nothing we love more than seeing someone achieve their lifelong dream. In tennis, winning a Grand Slam is the ultimate achievement and there are some exciting players in the women’s draw of the 2025 Australian Open who are on the cusp of getting their maiden Grand Slam victory.
With only weeks until Australia’s annual celebration of tennis, with all its blood, sweat and drama, we’ve identified some players who we think might just be able to bring it home at the Grand Slam in Jan. While Aryna Sabalenka has had a stranglehold on the AO for the last two years, there are some players right behind her who we know will be hungry to bring it home in this popular sport.
Qinwen Zheng
At just 22, Qinwen Zheng from China has been making big moves in the last two years, including winning singles gold in the 2024 Paris Olympics. Zheng was the first singles player from Asia, male or female, to win Olympic gold and continues to go from strength to strength.
Zheng made her Grand Slam final debut at the 2024 Australian Open but went down to world number one Aryna Sabalenka. She made her WTA Tour debut just four years ago, claiming her first victory at the Palermo Ladies Open in Italy in 2023. Zheng comes into the Australian Open ranked fifth, being just the second Chinese women’s player to have cracked the top 10. Zheng has also made multiple finals in recent months on the WTA tour, meaning she is in strong form as the next Grand Slam approaches.
Only one player representing an Asian country has ever won the Australian Open, Chinese tennis pioneer Li Na in 2014. Could Zheng make history in just a few weeks?
Jasmine Paolini
The 28-year-old Italian, Jasmine Paolini has risen to prominence this year after making the final at both the French Open and Wimbledon as well as winning doubles gold at the Paris Olympics along with Sara Errani. The gold medal was Italy’s first tennis medal in Olympic history.
After five years of Grand Slams, 2024 has been Paolini’s breakout year, having finally cut through the early rounds to make her mark on the tennis world. The Italian has two WTA title victories in her career and seems to have elevated her game considerably in recent years.
No Italian woman has ever won the Australian Open, with Paolini representing a new hope for Italian women’s tennis. She comes into the Australian Open ranked fourth in the world and will be leaving it all on the court in hope of claiming her first Grand Slam victory.
Ons Jabeur
Ons Jabeur has already well and truly made her mark on tennis. The 30 year old Tunisian is the most successful African and Arab tennis player in history. She has won five singles titles on the WTA tour and over the 2022 and 2023 seasons a maiden Grand Slam victory looked inevitable. After making successive Wimbledon finals and also the US Open final in 2022, Jabeur inspired a nation, and a continent. She is known as the Minister of Happiness for her upbeat attitude and reputation for kindness.
Jabeur was forced to cut her 2024 season short due to an ongoing shoulder injury, announcing she would be spending her time off recovering and doing charity work. The 2025 Australian Open will be Jabeur’s return to tennis, where she will be hungry to reclaim any ground lost due to her injury. Jabeur is yet to win a Grand Slam title despite being ranked inside the top five for multiple years. Could the AO be her fairytale comeback?
The Australian Open kicks off on Sunday January 12th and runs for a full two weeks.