 | Edition #1182 Jan 12, 2025 |
| From The GIST Team |
G'day mate!Welcome to The GIST's Sunday Scroll, where we dive deep into one timely sports topic. The Australian Open — tennis' first Grand Slam of the year — began in Melbourne last night, so today, we're serving up all you need to know as the tourney continues this morning. Start practicing your Aussie slang and accent, and walkabout through this year's preview. |
| Quote of The Day |
 | I just hope to, before I retire, get at least one more title there and that is the goal. |
 | — Ten-time Australian Open champion and world No. 7 Novak Djokovic, expressing his desire to win one more Grand Slam Down Under before stepping away from the game. Can "The Joker" return to dominance after an injury-plagued, Grand Slam–less 2024? Only one way to find out. |
| The Scroll |
📗 The history Source: Kelly Defina/Getty Images The first iteration of the Australian Open dates back more than a century — the first tournament for men was held in 1905 and the first for women in 1922, both run by the Lawn Tennis Association of Australasia.
The Open struggled to find its footing in the early years. Because Australia is just so far away, many international players resisted competing Down Under. While the other three major tourneys — Wimbledon, the French Open, and the U.S. Open — had distinct, long-standing identities, the Aussie Open's renaissance really began in the 1990s.
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✔️ The details Source: James D. Morgan/Getty Images Now for the nitty gritty. On Thursday, 256 combined men's and women's singles players and 128 combined doubles pairs were drawn. Those athletes will play four single-elimination opening rounds leading up to the quarter-finals which begin on January 20th.
As for the playing surface, while the Open was originally played on grass, it's been held on hardcourts since 1988 and on Melbourne Park's signature Australian Open True Blue since 2008. Let's talk money. The Aussie Open's total prize pot comes in at a record $96.5M Australian dollars (about $59.9M USD), up nearly 12% from last year. Each singles champion (Grand Slams provide equal pay for men and women) will walk home with a cool $3.5M Australian dollars (about $2.17M USD). Not too shabby. |
💪 Women to watch Source: Andy Cheung/Getty Images 🏅 No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka: The Girl with the 🇵🇱 No. 2 Iga Świątek (pronounced shvi-AHN-tek): The five-time Grand Slam champ is trying to move on from last year's doping scandal. ICYMI, the Polish star was given a one-month suspension for unintentionally using a banned substance. A tricky situation, indeed.
🇺🇲 No. 3 Coco Gauff: Gauff is riding high heading to the blue courts, reaping the rewards of a late-2024 coaching shakeup that resulted in the 20-year-old winning the China Open (October) and WTA Finals (November) after a shaky US Open performance. Confidence looks good on her. 🇮🇹 No. 4 Jasmine Paolini: Few tennis players had a better 2024 than Paolini, an underdog who reached the finals of both the French Open and Wimbledon, and led Italy to its first Billie Jean King Cup win. Can she rise to the occasion Down Under? 🇯🇵 No. 50 Naomi Osaka: The four-time Grand Slam champ looked strong last week, reaching the final of the ASB Classic just one year after returning to tennis following maternity leave. But after withdrawing mid-match in last week's ASB Classic (an Aussie Open warm-up) due to an abdominal injury, Osaka's quest for a third major title Down Under just became harder. |
👊 Men to watch Source: Graham Denholm/Getty Images 🇮🇹 No. 1 Jannik Sinner: As the tourney's defending champ, all focus should be on Sinner's incredible 2024, where he won his first two majors, the ATP Finals title, and the Davis Cup for Team Italy. But that's not the case.
🇪🇸 No. 3 Carlos Alcaraz: Alcaraz doubled his Grand Slam trophy collection in 2024, winning his first French Open and second Wimbledon title. The only major he's yet to win? The Australian Open. In fact, Alcatraz has never made it past the quarter-finals in Melbourne. No time like the present. 🇺🇸 No. 4 Taylor Fritz: Boasting his highest ranking ever after a banner, confidence-boosting year, Fritz is America's best chance at ending their men's major title drought, going strong since 2003. Known for playing five-setters at the Slams, will Fritz's endurance be the key to his success? 🇷🇸 No. 7 Novak Djokovic: Now that his long-time rivals have retired or become his coach, Djokovic's focus turns to defeating the youth as he fights for that elusive, record-breaking 25th Grand Slam title, a feat that would make him the winningest major tennis player ever.
🇧🇷 No. 113 João Fonseca: Don't let the ranking fool you — this Brazilian teen is just getting started. After crushing it with his electric serve through the qualifying round, Fonseca is competing in his first major in Melbourne shortly after taking the ATP Next Generation Finals title in December. |
🎥 How to watch Source: Michael Dodge/Getty Images The Open first-round action continues this morning and resumes tonight. If you're watching from North America, tune in to ESPN in the U.S. and TSN in Canada.
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| The GIST's Picks |
Here's what has GIST HQ buzzing:
🎉 Who to followAustralian pop star Troye Sivan, aka, Charli XCX's bestie on and off the Sweat Tour. Talk, talk, talk. 📚 What to readLittle Ash, a children's book series written by retired Australian legend, Ashleigh Barty. As if her resume wasn't full enough. 🍫 What to (grand) slam |
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