For tennis fans—or the merely tennis-curious—2024 is going to be a wild ride. It’s conceivable that the next 11 months will draw the biggest collective audience the sport has ever seen. Chalk it up to programming—of all sorts: Netflix’s second season of Break Point, the docu-series that follows players in both the WTA (women’s) and ATP (men’s) tours, just dropped, and the so-called Netflix Slam, airing live in March in Las Vegas, has the insurgent Carlos Alcaraz squaring off against Rafael Nadal (though time will tell if the clay court GOAT stays on the marquee, as he’s nursing an early-season injury). We get an extra high-profile moment with the Paris Summer Olympics, while tournaments like Indian Wells and the Miami Open have been setting record attendance numbers. There’s also Challengers, the hotly anticipated Luca Guadanigno film starring Zendaya (and costumed by JW Anderson) that promises to be a notable entry in the canon of tennis-centric pop culture.
Launching all of the above on the global stage is 2024’s Australian Open—the inaugural slam of the season and a near-instant immersion into high-stakes, huge-rewards play that can change the course of an athlete’s career. Here, a look at some of the Australian Open’s potential winners as it kicks off.
Naomi Osaka
Four-time Grand Slam winner (two Australian Opens, two US Opens) Naomi Osaka is back after a 15-month leave, during which she welcomed her first child, Shai. In Brisbane ahead of the Australian Open, Osaka appeared in excellent form. Her ball-striking was clean, and equally powerful. (She also exuded confidence in an eye-catching Louis Vuitton necklace.) At that tournament, she battled Karolína Plíšková in the Round of 32, losing in three sets, but her spirits remained high. She said on X (formerly known as Twitter), in her typically brief manner: “not gonna lie, that was really fun though.”
“I just have a really fresh perspective,” Osaka tells us of her 2024 outlook. “I’m embracing every second and living in the moment.” In Australia, she’ll look to draw power from the crowd; she’s a fan favorite, deservedly so. “It sounds cliché, but my favorite thing at this tournament is definitely the fans,” she says. “I’ve always had such a warm welcome here, even before I had won it.”
Iga Świątek
Four-time Grand Slam winner (three French Opens, one US Open) and current women’s world number one Iga Świątek is gunning for her first Australian Open. (She’s gotten close: In 2022, she reached the semifinals.) This 22-year-old from Poland, a headliner of ON’s athlete roster, is known for being one of the sport’s more mindful players. Her introspection—and her focus on mental health—has paid dividends in her young career thus far.
“My routine probably will stay the same, because you don’t change something that simply works well,” Świątek tells us from Australia. That routine includes: “Resting enough, being in nature to recharge, and doing something small for myself every day, like reading books and managing social media time.” She adds: “The one thing I’m constantly trying to work with is to feel more free on and off the court in terms of expectations, pressure, and challenges.”
Grigor Dimitrov
Dimitrov, 32, took his first title since 2017 in Brisbane last week, where he defeated Holger Rune in the final. That victory sealed a mini hot streak for the Bulgarian star, who also made it to the finals of 2023’s season-capping Rolex Paris Masters, where he lost to Novak Djokovic. (Djokovic, currently world number one, is—no surprise—still dominant.) In between, Dimitrov launched an underwear campaign for Lacoste, which was ostensibly tennis’s version of the Jeremy Allen White Calvin Klein release.
At the trophy ceremony in Brisbane, Dimitrov said, simply: “I will keep going.” Don’t be surprised if he goes deep at the Australian Open—he’s playing some of the best tennis of his career right now.
Ben Shelton
So-called “Box Office Ben,” one of the United States’s youngest and most electrifying men, is seeded 16 at the Australian Open. His run to the 2023 US Open semifinals, where he fell to Djokovic, made him a star on the global stage—and his serve, which can hit 150 miles per hour, is the rocket fuel that continues to propel him forward. Shelton has all the bona fides of tennis celebrity: His talent is immense, as is his ability, intentionally or not, to stand out from the pack. (Tennis fans will likely remember his “dialed-in” gesture, semi-mocked by Djokovic during their US Open match, for a long time.) Basically: Box Office Ben gets people talking.
“I’m more familiar with the tour, the tournament sites and cities,” says Shelton from Melbourne. (Until last year, he had never traveled outside the US.) “This will definitely help me to feel more comfortable with everything.” Of Australia itself, he adds: “I love how rowdy the fans can get, and I enjoy the warm weather—it always helps my serve.”
Other Americans poised for a big 2024 include Taylor Fritz (seeded 12), Tommy Paul (seeded 14), Frances Tiafoe (seeded 17), and Sebastian Korda (seeded 29).
Ons Jabeur
The 29-year-old Jabeur, from Tunisia, is a three-time Grand Slam finalist (twice at Wimbledon, once at the US Open). She is also the first Arab and African woman to win a 1000-level event (Madrid, 2022), and the first Arab and African woman to be in the WTA’s top 10. Having cemented herself in the history books already, Jabeur is looking at 2024 through a depressurized prism (and, as such, count on seeing plenty more of her lethal drop shots).
“I have new team members,” she says from Melbourne. “And I think we’re unlocking my potential. With psychology, too, I’m working on a lot of new things to ease the pressure a bit. I feel very happy and appreciated. And I love the crowd in Australia—I feel loved here.”
Jeļena Ostapenko
Ostapenko, 26, won the French Open in 2017. She’s both poised and hungry for another Slam—and she’s been in great form. (Shout out, too, to Ostapenko’s style—she doesn’t get enough love for her on-court ’fits, which are notably colorful and feature unexpected, atypical touches. In Adelaide, for example, she’s been rocking a top with an almost waistcoat-like hem.)
“I’m excited to hopefully get back into the top 10,” she tells us from Adelaide, ahead of flying to Melbourne. “No matter how I am feeling, though, I want to really leave it all on the court in any match I play.”
Holger Rune
The 20-year-old Dane—the number 8 men’s seed in Australia—has had some huge results in his career, including beating Novak Djokovic in the finals at the Rolex Paris Masters in 2022 at the age of 19. His strong all-court game and intense competitive style bode well for his Slam chances, whether in Australia or the rest of the year: Rune, in essence, is ready. (He has also added the legendary Boris Becker to his coaching staff, and the collaboration is already fruitful: Rune reached the finals of this year’s Brisbane International tournament, held just a week before the Australian Open.)
“I have a fairly new team around me, so a lot of new things are implemented both on and off the court,” he says from Melbourne. “I like developing, and the chemistry in the team is so good. I love the fact that I feel much more calm now.” He adds: “For sure, winning is the best feeling, but I like to improve; I like to be challenged. This lights a fire inside me.”
Match Point
Plenty of other top names are vying for their first Grand Slam. Of the women, look for the United States’ Jessica Pegula (seeded 5), Greece’s Maria Sakkari (seeded 8), and Brazil’s Beatriz Haddad Maia (seeded 10). Of the men, keep an eye on Jannik Sinner (seeded 4), Russia’s Andrey Rublev (seeded 5), Greece’s Stefanos Tsitsipas (seeded 7), Poland’s Hubert Hurkacz (seeded 9), and Australia’s very own Alex de Minaur, who just reached his career high ranking of 10 last week.
Those looking to add to their Slam tally? You’ve heard their names: Novak Djokovic, Coco Gauff, Carlos Alcaraz, Daniil Medvedev, Elena Rybakina, and defending Australian Open champ Aryna Sabalenka among them.