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The Australian Open men’s and women’s singles draws will be held this afternoon (2:30pm AEDT), with the fates of the sport’s biggest names set to be determined.

Of course, what sounds like a difficult draw can be blown up with a single upset, and there’ll always be surprise packets making it further into the tournament than expected.

But with a historic three Aussie male seeds, all eyes will be on the early draws for Alex de Minaur, Alexei Popyrin and Jordan Thompson – and where the returning Nick Kyrgios ends up.

Foxsports.com.au previews the Australian Open draw ahead of our live coverage direct from Melbourne Park this afternoon – with full analysis to come afterwards.

HOW DOES A GRAND SLAM SINGLES DRAW WORK?

The top 32 players in each singles draw are seeded, and placed throughout the bracket to ensure they cannot play each other until at least the third round (round of 32).

The draw ceremony begins with the qualifiers, wildcards and non-seeded main draw entrants being randomly placed throughout the draw, filling all spots which will not feature seeds.

The No.1 and No.2 seeds are placed on opposite sides of the draw, in the top left and bottom right of the bracket respectively.

The No.3 and No.4 seeds are randomly drawn into the other corners, to face the No.1 and/or No.2 in the semi-finals.

Then the No.5-8 seeds are placed, one in each quarter, to face a No.1-4 seed in the quarter-finals.

Then the No.9-12 seeds are placed, one in each section which features a No.5-8 seed, to face them in the fourth round.

Then the No.13-16 seeds are placed, one in each section which features a No.1-4 seed, to face them in the fourth round.

Then the No.17-24 seeds are placed, one in each mini-section which features a No.9-16 seed, to face them in the third round.

Finally the No.25-32 seeds are placed, one in each mini-section which features a No.1-8 seed, to face them in the third round.

SO HOW WILL THIS WORK FOR ALEX DE MINAUR?

Having cracked the ATP top eight just in time for the season’s first grand slam, Aussie Alex de Minaur won’t be able to play a higher-ranked opponent until the quarter-finals.

That’s important, because the Australian Open is the only slam where he has never made the last eight, and he’s desperate to become the first Aussie at that stage since Nick Kyrgios in 2015.

As always, there will be upsets, but these are the highest-ranked players de Minaur can face on his run through the tournament.

Highest-ranked player Alex de Minaur can play in each round of Australian Open

Round 1: Unseeded player/wildcard/qualifier

Round 2: Unseeded player/wildcard/qualifier

Round 3: Seed 25 to 32 – One of Alexei Popyrin, Tomas Machac, Jordan Thompson, Sebastian Baez, Felix Auger-Aliassime, Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard, Francisco Cerundolo or Flavio Cobolli

Round 4: Seed 9 to 12 – One of Andrey Rublev, Grigor Dimitrov, Stefanos Tsitsipas or Tommy Paul

Quarter-Final: Seed 1 to 4 – One of Jannik Sinner, Alex Zverev, Carlos Alcaraz or Taylor Fritz

Semi-Final: Seed 1 to 4 (but cannot be Sinner if he played Zverev in his QF, or vice versa)

Final: Seed 1 to 4

Of his third-round options, the one to avoid is probably Felix Auger-Aliassime, given he has never beaten the Canadian on hard courts; though one could argue the biggest threat is big-serving French young gun Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard.

Otherwise there are a lot of first-time matchups on offer.

De Minaur vs potential third-round opponents

Alexei Popyrin: 2-1

Tomas Machac: Has not played

Jordan Thompson: 5-1

Sebastian Baez: Has not played

Felix Auger-Aliassime: 2-3

Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard: Has not played

Francisco Cerundolo: Has not played

Flavio Cobolli: 2-0

In the fourth round, de Minaur would be most keen to avoid Stefanos Tsitsipas, who he has a woeful 2-13 all-time record against – though he did beat the Greek on a hard court in Acapulco last year.

There’s also a potential rematch on offer, as de Minaur lost in five sets to Andrey Rublev in last year’s fourth round at Melbourne Park.

De Minaur vs potential fourth-round opponents

Andrey Rublev: 4-3

Grigor Dimitrov: 3-2

Stefanos Tsitsipas: 2-13

Tommy Paul: 5-0

WHAT ELSE SHOULD I BE LOOKING OUT FOR IN THE MEN’S DRAW?

Other than de Minaur, the fates of No.25 seed Alexei Popyrin and No.27 seed Jordan Thompson are obvious points of intrigue.

For a start, it’s the first time in 43 years we’ve seen three Aussie male seeds at this event, and even longer since one won it. Popyrin and Thompson may in particular be long-shots, but their rankings will give them a chance at going deep.

Thompson has never made it into the third round of his home slam, so this is his best shot by far. Popyrin has done it three times, and twice took advantage of a retirement on the way, but has pulled some upsets – such is the nature of his powerful game style that he can be a bit of a giant-killer.

Neither man will have to face another seed until the third round, when their draw will get dramatically more difficult against a top-eight player – potentially de Minaur himself.

We wouldn’t want to talk down an Aussie but that’d probably be the best draw they could get, given the alternatives include defending champion Jannik Sinner, his fellow next-gen superstar Carlos Alcaraz, and 24-time grand slam champion Novak Djokovic.

Djokovic is the No.7 seed, his lowest ranking at Melbourne Park since 2018 when he was still coming back from an elbow injury, after a quieter season where he didn’t win a slam or play as many tournaments to gain ranking points.

But this is where 2024 hurts him in 2025, because if the seeds hold up, he will have to beat three top-four players on route to a 25th crown – one of Jannik Sinner, Alex Zverev, Carlos Alcaraz or Taylor Fritz in the quarter-final, semi-final and final respectively.

Last year Djokovic beat Fritz in the quarters and lost to Sinner in the semis, very much a scenario we could see again.

Sinner (the No.1 seed) and Alcaraz (the No.3 seed) are the tournament favourites but each man’s chances would be impacted if they’re drawn in the same half; Alcaraz will instead hope to be placed in the bottom half with No.2 seed Alex Zverev, given the German has still never won a slam.

WHAT ABOUT THIS YEAR’S DANGEROUS FLOATERS?

We have a good idea where the seeds will be placed, but everyone else – the unseeded players, plus the qualifiers and wildcards – gets thrown in there randomly.

And that’s where the chaos comes from.

For example you’ve got quality players who are just ranked lower than their absolute best would suggest they should be – like the veteran Gael Monfils, or former semi-finalist Matteo Berrettini – or wildcard recipient and former champion Stan Wawrinka.

There’ll be some dangerous qualifiers, with Next-Gen Finals and Canberra Challenger winner Joao Fonseca – who’s one win away from the main event, where he could genuinely win a few matches with a bit of draw luck – the most promising.

“He reminds me of like a mini-Sinner,” American world No.41 Alex Michelsen said recently.

“The way he hits the ball is kinda the same. I played them both… the way they hit the ball, you don’t come by that very often.”

Then you’ve got players on a protected ranking, coming back from a lengthy break, like surprise Brisbane International finalist Reilly Opelka, or dual US Open semi-finalist Pablo Carreno Busta… or like Nick Kyrgios.

Kyrgios has already conceded he would need “a miracle” to go deep at Melbourne Park after pulling up sore from his early Brisbane exit, but he looked pretty damn good in that match, a three-set loss to Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard (who will be the No.30 seed in Melbourne).

So he’s basically the worst possible first round draw if you’re a seed – you don’t care if Kyrgios is going to struggle to back up in round two, you just care that playing him in front of a raucous crowd in your opening match will be way harder than facing a usual unseeded opponent.

Fingers crossed he actually plays, after withdrawing from Thursday’s exhibition match against Novak Djokovic with an abdominal strain.

Of the unseeded Aussies, Thanasi Kokkinakis is the most threatening, ranked all the way up at No.24 in Tennis Abstract’s most recent ELO ratings.

Other Aussie men in the draw are Chris O’Connell, Aleks Vukic, Rinky Hijikata, James Duckworth, Adam Walton, Tristan Schoolkate, Li Tu, Omar Jasika and James McCabe.

They could also be joined by local qualifiers.

AND WHAT ABOUT ON THE WOMEN’S SIDE?

With no Aussie contenders to win the trophy Ash Barty held aloft a few years back, there’ll be less local interest in the women’s singles, but as always it’s a more unpredictable tournament than the men’s.

Well, maybe we have to retire that cliche, because No.1 seed Aryna Sabalenka absolutely loves playing on our soil.

Since the start of 2023 she has played five tournaments in Australia and won four, only making the final of the 2024 Brisbane International but winning the 2025 version, plus the 2023 Adelaide International, and of course the 2023 and 2024 Australian Opens.

In fact Sabalenka has dropped just four sets over those five tournaments (three of them to Elena Rybakina). She has been ridiculously good down under.

But we know No.2 seed Iga Swiatek and No.3 Coco Gauff can beat Sabalenka – in fact, both women have a winning record all-time against her.

Swiatek has bizarrely struggled in Australia, only making it as far as the semi-finals once, but the tournament champion is still very likely to come from this group, or perhaps No.6 seed Rybakina.

Otherwise, you’re looking at someone like Karolina Muchova, only seeded No.20 but a semi-finalist at the last two US Opens, or even Naomi Osaka – the two-time champion who looked strong in Auckland before being forced to withdraw from the final hurt.

Don’t count out a deep run from young superstar Mirra Andreeva, both a teen in her seeding (No.14) and age (17), while new mum and former world No.4 Belinda Bencic is finally back – the last time we saw her at Melbourne Park, she was pushing eventual champ Sabalenka.

The Aussie women in the draw are Olivia Gadecki, Daria Saville, Alja Tomljanovic, Maya Joint, Talia Gibson and world No.1 junior Emerson Jones.

We also await potential local qualifiers.

Follow the Australian Open draw in our live blog below!

AUSTRALIAN OPEN 2025 SEEDS

Men’s Singles

1. Jannik Sinner

2. Alexander Zverev

3. Carlos Alcaraz

4. Taylor Fritz

5. Daniil Medvedev

6. Casper Ruud

7. Novak Djokovic

8. Alex de Minaur

9. Andrey Rublev

10. Grigor Dimitrov

11. Stefanos Tsitsipas

12. Tommy Paul

13. Holger Rune

14. Ugo Humbert

15. Jack Draper

16. Lorenzo Musetti

17. Frances Tiafoe

18. Hubert Hurkacz

19. Karen Khachanov

20. Arthur Fils

21. Ben Shelton

22. Sebastian Korda

23. Alejandro Tabilo

24. Jiri Lehecka

25. Alexei Popyrin

26. Tomas Machac

27. Jordan Thompson

28. Sebastian Baez

29. Felix Auger-Aliassime

30. Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard

31. Francisco Cerundolo

32. Flavio Cobolli

Women’s Singles

1. Aryna Sabalenka

2. Iga Swiatek

3. Coco Gauff

4. Jasmine Paolini

5. Qinwen Zheng

6. Elena Rybakina

7. Jessica Pegula

8. Emma Navarro

9. Daria Kasatkina

10. Danielle Collins

11. Paula Badosa

12. Diana Shnaider

13. Anna Kalinskaya

14. Mirra Andreeva

15. Beatriz Haddad-Maia

16. Jelena Ostapenko

17. Marta Kostyuk

18. Donna Vekic

19. Madison Keys

20. Karolina Muchova

21. Victoria Azarenka

22. Katie Boulter

23. Magdalena Frech

24. Yulia Putintseva

25. Liudmila Samsonova

26. Ekaterina Alexandrova

27. Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova

28. Elina Svitolina

29. Linda Noskova

30. Leylah Fernández

31. Maria Sakkari

32. Dayana Yastremska