Best Players to Watch at the 2024 Australian Open

Sponsored by Kia, the 2024 Australian Open was held at Melbourne Park in January 2024. It opened the year for many sportsmen and tennis aficionados. The competition counted events for professional tennis players in singles, doubles, and mixed doubles, with juniors and wheelchair players competing as well. The 2024 edition of this Grand Slam tournament attracted a mind-blowing number of spectators. Aside from watching exciting tennis rivalries, they had the time of their lives, enjoying entertainment options and exquisite cuisine choices offered on-site. But let’s get back to the sport and review the A-listers of the competition.

The Defending Champions: Eyes on the Favorites

A defending champion is a player who has won this competition in the past and is currently competing to defend their title again. These guys are pets for bettors and have the most welcoming tennis odds. In 2024, the number 1 defending champion was Novak Djokovic. The competition did not work out well for him, though. For the women’s singles, Aryna Sabalenka was the defending champion, and she did defend her title all right!

The Returning Legends: Veteran Players to Follow

The Australian Open always collects the best tennis gems, both new and seasoned. We will discuss young starlets later; for now, we will focus on veteran stars.

Novak Djokovic: The King of Melbourne Park

Unfortunately, 2024 was not a good year for Djokovic in terms of the Australian Open. Of course, he had great expectations and aimed at extending his mind-blowing winning streak of 33 matches at the tournament. However, he lost without reaching the finals. Novak was beaten by an Italian player, Jannik Sinner, in the semifinals. Djokovic later admitted that it was one of the worst Glam Slam games he had ever played. He was deeply unhappy with his gameplay.

Just FYI, let’s go back to 2022. That year, he was involved in one of the most significant scandals in tennis history. In January 2022, he arrived in Australia to take part in the Australian Open. Unexpectedly, he was detained with a canceled visa because he refused to get vaccinated for COVID-19. This was one major blow! Despite his claims that he had a medical exemption from vaccinations due to health issues, Novak was charged with providing inaccurate data in his declaration form. He had to spend a week in a quarantine motel and, eventually, was forced to leave the country. Oh well! In 2023, he came back and won his 10th Australian Open title.

Rafael Nadal: The Comeback Story That Never Happened

Rafael Nadal’s intentions of making his 19th appearance at the Australian Open have been cut short two days after he lost his game in the Brisbane quarterfinals to Jordan Thompson. Rafa had to withdraw from the Grand Slam tournament due to a microtear on his muscle he suffered during the Brisbane event. He had to go back to Spain for treatment instead of rocking the Melbourne court.

The Rising Stars: Future Champions in the Making

Young tennis stars are shining bright like diamonds and showing all their splendor during major world tournaments like the Australian Open. Was the 2024 edition successful enough for the rising stars of the sport?

Carlos Alcaraz: The Young Sensation

The Australian Open 2024 was a controversial start of the year for Carlos Alcaraz. He suffered a four-set quarterfinal defeat to Alexander Zverev. Later, Carlos admitted that he was not happy with his performance at the tournament but still had a great time playing. After all, he managed to reach the quarterfinals!

Carlos, who actually prefers to be called Carlitos, started playing tennis at the age of 4, and pushed through with his career debut at 16. It happened back in 2020, a complicated year for sports activities due to the pandemic. Some sportsmen bloomed, some broke. Alcaraz managed to advance through the ranking swiftly, winning his first ATP championship and entering the top 100 in 2021 already. In 2022, he won the US Open and even defeated both Nadal and Djokovic at the Madrid Open. 

Quite a fashionista, Carlitos is sponsored by Calvin Klein, Rolex, and Nike. In 2023, he also became an ambassador for Louis Vuitton.

Coco Gauff: The Teen Prodigy

Coco was about to win her next back-to-back Grand Slam title during the Australian Open 2024 but was defeated by Aryna Sabalenka in the semifinals. Sabalenka later admitted that it was one tough match.

Gauff is a quickly rising star in the tennis world. She actually became the youngest woman to win the US Open at 19 years old after Serena Williams. In 2023, she made it to the French Open for her first Grand Slam final. In July 2024, she was announced the world’s number 2 in women’s singles.

Coco is an ambassador for a number of brands, including New Balance, Bose, and UPS. She is very active on her social media accounts on Instagram, X, and TikTok.

Other Young Contenders

Of course, we cannot leave our winners out in the cold! Aryna Sabalenka won the women’s singles title celebrating her second title in Melbourne and her second Grand Slam victory. Jannik Sinner was the one to win the man’s singles title which marked his maiden victory in the Gram Slam tournament.

Players in Top Form: Recent Standouts

Intense and strong, these players are dangerous opponents and exquisite players. Their games are always performances of grace and ultimate technique. 

Daniil Medvedev: The Hard Court Specialist

The AO 2024 was a tough challenge for Medvedev. By the finals he was exhausted after spending more time on the court than any other player (unbelievable 24 hours and 17 minutes, to be exact). This ended in a loss to Jannik Sinner, a young Italian player.

He is recognized for his edgy technique, mighty mental toughness, and flexible playing style. In 2019, Medvedev pushed through with his ATP tour debut after making it to six straight finals, including the US Open. He defeated Novak Djokovic in the final of the 2021 US Open to win his maiden Grand Slam championship. Medvedev rose to the top of the global rankings in 2022 and has won numerous titles since. In modern tennis, he is regarded as one of the most efficient and dangerous opponents.

Iga Swiatek: World Number One Dominance

The world number one, Iga Swiatek, got out of the Australian Open 2024 after losing to Linda Noskova of the Czech Republic in the third round. Alas! It was the first time since Wimbledon 2022 that Iga was out of a slam competition that early. This match cut short her winning streak of 18 matches that had lasted since September of the previous year.

 

Born into a family crazy about sports, Iga started playing tennis at the age of 5. Her junior career was more than successful, and in 2019, she joined the WTA tour. Her unique accomplishments, which include going 37 games without losing, making it to the first WTA finals in 2023, and becoming the youngest woman to win four French Open titles, made her a fan darling and left a legacy that most players take a lifetime to achieve.

Underdogs and Dark Horses: The Unpredictable Forces

In tennis, rankings don’t always correlate with results. Literally, anything can happen. The Australian Open women’s draw, which featured unseeded players in the quarterfinals, is a perfect example of how faux pas of the favorites can open up the draw and show that the major trophy is at stake. For example, Linda Noskova was hardly expected to win over Iga Swiatek, the four-time major champion. Linda later lost to Dayana Yastremska from Ukraine, who, therefore, reached her first Grand Slam semifinal at the AO 2024. That outcome was hardly expected as well!

Conclusion

The Australian Open is a regular Grand Slam tournament held in — surprise! — Down Under. In 2024, the competition turned out to be a unique event with unexpected wins, withdrawals, and losses. In this read, we listed the greatest appearances of the tournament, which heightened the emotional intensity of the event.

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