During the first week of the year’s inaugural major, it’s fitting that youthful energy coursed through the 2025 Australian Open. The conventional wisdom is (was?) that the modern game is so physical that only fully mature tennis players are capable of success—no more. Player after player who require a fake ID to enter a saloon vaulted deeper in the draw and higher up the rankings … none more than Joao Fonseca, the Brazilian 18-year-old revelation, and Learner Tien, the 19-year-old Californian who beat last year’s finalist Daniil Medvedev and then backed it up reaching the fourth round.
At the same time, the stalwarts are holding their ground. As we write this, the defending champions are still going strong. Novak Djokovic is still in the running for a record 25th career major and Carlos Alcaraz is still in the running for the title, which would complete his career slam at the ripe age of 21.
