Pegula, Paul, Shelton, Korda: the American invasion continues Down Under in week two of the 2025 tennis season

The tennis season begins with bang, then quiets back down a bit in week two. This is when anticipation starts to grow for the Australian Open, qualifying begins at Melbourne Park, and a new star player pops up on its practice courts each day.

For others, though, there are still tournaments to be entered, and momentum to be gained or lost before the year’s first Grand Slam gets underway. Here’s a look at three storylines to follow from Adelaide, Hobart and Auckland.

Americans will be everywhere

The U.S., behind Taylor Fritz and Coco Gauff, won the United Cup on Sunday, but the country’s presence will only grow in week two. Numbers-wise, Americans have become the dominant force in tennis, and that only becomes more obvious in the weeks when the sport’s Slam-winning elite—Sinner, Alcaraz, Swiatek, Sabalenka—are absent.

Jessica Pegula and Emma Navarro are the top two seeds on the women’s side in Adelaide, while Tommy Paul and Sebastian Korda are No. 1 and 2 on the men’s. Ben Shelton is the first seed in Auckland.

Also in action are Brandon Nakashima, Reilly Opelka (pending his back injury from this weekend), Alex Michelsen, Amanda Anisimova, Danielle Collins, and Diana Shnaider.

Paul and Pegula will try to get their mid-season mojo back—and not worry about their football teams too much

Pegula and Paul, natives of Buffalo and the Philadelphia area, respectively, have a lot in common. They’ve gone deep in Australia, they have major-title dreams that have yet to be fulfilled, and they can both be distracted by the fates of their respective football teams in January. Paul is a diehard Eagles fan, while Pegula’s family owns the Bills. Both teams have championship aspirations this year. If Paul and Pegula were asked to choose between winning in Melbourne, or their team winning the Super Bowl, I’m not entirely sure how they would answer.

The two also find themselves in similar situations coming into the new year. Both had strong mid-season runs in 2024—Paul won Queen’s and made the Wimbledon quarterfinals; Pegula won in Canada and made the US Open final. But both dropped a bit from those peaks in the fall. Can their 2024 surges be repeated, or sustained for longer, in 2025? We’ll start to find out in Australia.

Pegula in particular is in a tough section of her draw, with Badosa, Collins, Kostyuk, Sakkari and Noskova.

Clara Tauson will try to build on her good form, and good fortune

Tauson was as stunned as anyone when Naomi Osaka walked over and told her that she was retiring from their final in Auckland. Osaka had just ripped off a series of winners that had given her the first set, 6-4. But she had also ripped something in her abs, and it hurt when she served, so she ceded the title to Tauson.

That’s not to say the 22-year-old Dane didn’t have a good week. She won four matches, including a tough two-setter over top seed Madison Keys. More important, the 6-foot Tauson has always had more game than her ranking—currently No. 50, high of No. 33—would indicate. She was a junior world No. 1, and she can trade baseline bombs with anyone.

The tennis gods smiled on Tauson in Auckland. Is it a sign of better things to come for her? She’ll tee it back up against Anhelina Kalinina in Hobart this week.