The Australian Open gets underway in a couple of weeks, but we will get a glimpse of the biggest names in tennis before the first Grand Slam of the year begins.

Defending champion Jannik Sinner, 10-time Australian Open winner Novak Djokovic and Wimbledon and French Open champion Carlos Alcaraz are among the star names set to take part in high-profile exhibition matches to be played on Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne the week before the tournament begins.

The Australian Open has led the way in turning their tournament into a three-week event, with the days before the first round draws in the men’s and women’s tournament kick-off packed with action for the Melbourne crowds to enjoy.

Australian Open organisers have now revealed details of the AO Fan Week for 2025, with cut-price tickets on offer for exhibition matches that raise money for charity.

Among the offerings are some fun matches that are outlined like this by the Australian Open website:

• Red Bull Bassline, featuring six of the world’s best players in a unique, one-night only, tie-break tennis event
• A Night With Novak, back by popular demand and starring Djokovic and other pros in an entertaining event with a few surprises
• A mixed doubles charity match, with Aryna Sabalenka, Alexander Zverev and Coco Gauff already signed up.

A Night With Novak will take place on Thursday, January 7 and is set to be a fun evening headlined by the 24-time Grand Slam champion.

Djokovic played wheelchair tennis at this event last year and it is likely to feature a host of star names from past and present in tennis and maybe also from the world of entertainment.

There will also be some serious match practice being put in place by the big contenders for the Australian Open, with a chance to compete on the court where the tournament will be played vital to allow them to acclimatise to conditions.

World No 1 Sinner is in action against Australia’s Alexei Popyrin on Tuesday, January 5 and Sinner will play another match against Stefanos Tsitsipas on the Friday night.

Alcaraz is set to take on Australian favourite Alex de Minaur on the Wednesday night and he will also play against Popyrin on the Friday before the tournament gets underway.

There will also be women in action as Olympic Zheng Qinwen and Elina Svitolina go head-to-head on Wednesday evening, in what will be an engaging contest.

These warm-up events look set to be the only matches played by Sinner and Alcaraz ahead of the Australian Open, with 17-time Grand Slam champion Mark Woodforde telling Tennis365 that he has some concerns over his Alcaraz’s preparations for the first Grand Slam of the year.

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“My only concern during the off-season was Alcaraz’s decision to fly to America to play some exhibition matches. That was a bit of a red flag for me,” began Woodforde, who is an ambassador for the Bank of China Hong Kong Tennis Open 2025.

“After playing in those matches, it will be interesting to see how he kicks off the season after that decision.

“To travel to the US and play some matches when he could have been resting and preparing, I was not a big fan of the exhibitions he played.”

Alcaraz could complete a career Grand Slam if he wins the Australian Open and adds that title to the Wimbledon, French Open and US Open titles to his collection and Woodforde suggests there is a lot more to come from the 21-year-old Spaniard.

“I don’t think he is the complete player yet and we saw that at the Australian Open last year,” added Woodforde.

“The impact of not having Juan Carlos Ferrero with him in Australia last year was significant, as Carlito’s coach missed that event after undergoing knee surgery.

“He has been the rock in Alcaraz’s camp and I didn’t like the way he was playing his matches in Juan Carlos’s absence in Australia.

“He ended up losing against Alexander Zverev with what I would describe as an unusual performance that went against a player who was a little battle-weary.

“Zverev was coming off the back of some tough five-setters and against an opponent who is not at his freshest, you would think that elongating the points would have been a good tactic for Alcaraz and yet he tried to bulldozer his way through the match.

“That highlighted the youthful exuberance Alcaraz brings to the game. He still has that youthful mindset, but he is a fast learner and I’d expect him to do well at the Australian Open this year.”

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