Novak Djokovic returns to action, Iga Swiatek makes season debut in first week of 2025

To be a tennis fan, you have to know how to ignore the 365-day calendar everyone else lives by.

In the 1980s, I can remember trying to explain to non-fan friends of mine why the men’s Masters tournament in New York, which took place each January, was actually the final event of the year that had just ended. I don’t think I ever came up with a plausible answer. Basically, the sport couldn’t fit itself into 12 months.

Over the last few days, spending time with family after Christmas, I’ve found myself doing the same thing with the United Cup. Despite starting on December 27th, 2024, the team competition in Australia is meant to be the kick-off event of 2025. The sport still can’t fit itself inside the calendar. The more we talk about shortening the schedule, the longer it gets.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not here to complain. A new season, whenever it starts, always brings new storylines, and this year especially there are plenty to follow right out of the gate. For now, Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz, are keeping their powder dry, but with the Australian Open coming up fast—it begins earlier than normal, on January 11th—most of the rest of the game’s stars are already in action, many of them with new coaches in tow.

Here are seven reasons to tune in to the new tennis season on week one.

1. Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray make their debut as a team

So far, Djokovic says it has been “strange” to share his “secrets’’ with a former rival, but he’s ready to start on a new campaign with a new partner. No matter how it works out, the promising thing to me is that Djokovic, who turns 38 in May, is still looking for ways to keep his career fresh, and bring new ideas to his game. He’s the top seed this week in Brisbane, and will start his 2025 against Rinky Hijikata.

2. Iga Swiatek, post doping ban, starts a new season with a new coach

Rightly or wrongly, Swiatek’s and Sinner’s failed doping tests from 2024, and the processes that led to their light sentences, still hang over the tour as 2025 begins. Swiatek will try to put hers in the rearview mirror this week in United Cup, where she’s scheduled to play Malene Helgo of Norway on Monday, and Karolina Muchova of Czechia on Wednesday. More importantly for 2025, Swiatek will also show off the fruits of a couple months of work with new coach Wim Fissette.

3. Goran Ivanisevic moves to the WTA side, with Elena Rybakina

Will we see a freer, happier, better Rybakina now that she has switched coaches? That’s what many of us expect from the the Kazakh, who gradually faded from view in 2024, before splitting with Stefano Vulkov and hiring Ivanisevic at the end of the year. Ivanisevic says he’s trying to get Rybakina to show more positive emotion and finish more points at net, both of which make sense for her. So far, so good. Rybakina won her singles and doubles matches to lead Kazakhstan past Spain in its opening United Cup tie. She’ll face a tougher test from Greece’s Maria Sakkari on Monday.

4. Taylor Fritz and Coco Gauff begin a crucial season as a team

United Cup tends to bring together the two most promising players from the United States. Two years ago, that was Frances Tiafoe and Jessica Pegula, who were both rising in the rankings. This year it’s Fritz and Gauff, who are coming off promising finishes to 2024. Gauff closed by hiring a new coach and winning big titles in Beijing and Riyadh, while Fritz reached his first major final at the US Open, and his first final at the ATP’s year-end championships. The Americans will be in similar positions at the Australian Open in a couple of weeks: They’ll both have the highest of hopes, but both will likely have to play the tennis of the lives to come away with titles. Possible Bonus: Danielle Collins, who retired and unretired after having a banner 2024, is also part of the U.S. team.

5. Aryna Sabalenka and Emma Navarro, two stars of 2024, headline Brisbane

Twelve months ago, both of these women signaled that they would be forces to reckon with in the coming season. Sabalenka reached the final in Brisbane and won the title in Melbourne, while Navarro took home her first career title, in Hobart. Neither disappointed the rest of the way in 2024, as Sabalenka finished No. 1 for the first time, and Navarro broke into the Top 10. This time around they’re the Top 2 seeds in a Brisbane field that also includes Kasatkina, Badosa, Ostapenko, and Andreeva.

6. Naomi Osaka’s comeback enters season two

Osaka’s return after giving birth was one of the major stories at the start of 2024. For a four-time Slam winner, her season clearly didn’t live up to expectations. She didn’t win a title, didn’t make it out of the second round at a major, and finished 58th. In retrospect, though, if we take away the sky-high hopes, maybe it wasn’t so bad for a first year back. She had a 22-18 record, nearly beat Swiatek at Roland Garros, and finished by starting a new partnership with a successful coach in Patrick Mouratoglou. Maybe best of all, Osaka kept plugging through the tough weeks, and didn’t let her frustrations drive her off the tour again. She’ll start round two in Auckland on Sunday night against Lina Glushko.

7. Nick Kyrgios comes back after two years away

Is the Aussie agitator’s return good or bad for tennis? That will depend on your previous opinion of his antics and attitude. What we do know is that he’ll create headlines, as he has already by making a former enemy, Djokovic, his doubles partner in Brisbane. What we don’t know is how his body, his game, and his desire to compete will hold up. Kyrgios will turn 30 in April, and he’s been out with injuries to his knee, foot, and wrist over the last 18 months. He’ll need to be in top gear from the get-go in Brisbane, where he starts against young French gunslinger Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard, in a match that may turn into one long ace.