Anticipation Builds for the 2025 Australian Open, as Rod Laver Arena Marks its 25th Anniversary
Rolex Returns to tennis in 2025
Geneva, 11 December 2024 – The 2025 Australian Open, from Sunday 12 to Sunday 26 January, welcomes Rolex’s support for the international tennis calendar and promises captivating performances across 15 days of action. As era-defining rivalries and new coaching partnerships play out, Rolex Testimonies Jannik Sinner and Qinwen Zheng will return to Melbourne Park, the scene of their Grand Slam® tournament breakthroughs. Sinner claimed the first of his two men’s Grand Slam® singles titles at the 2024 Australian Open before achieving the World No. 1 ranking, while Zheng reached her first Grand Slam® singles final at the event prior to her gold medal win in Paris last summer.
Zheng took the tennis world by storm in 2024, with her performances earning her a place at the WTA Finals for the first time. Next month, she will strive to go one better in Melbourne, competing alongside fellow Rolex Testimonies Iga Swiatek, Coco Gauff, Sloane Stephens and Belinda Bencic, who is set to return to Grand Slam® competition for the first time since becoming a mother. Zheng says:
“The Australian Open will always be special for me because it’s where I reached my first Grand Slam final, and it was also the first Grand Slam event I ever played, back in 2022. Everything in Australia seems to go well. I love the atmosphere at Melbourne Park and Rod Laver watching me on Rod Laver Arena in 2024 was an amazing moment.”
Rod Laver’s home Grand Slam® tournament holds a special place in his heart. The 2025 edition marks the 25th anniversary of the Centre Court at Melbourne Park being renamed Rod Laver Arena, and it is 65 years since the tennis legend won his first of 11 Grand Slam® titles at the Australian Championships in 1960. Since then, Laver has witnessed first-hand the evolution of tennis and Rolex’s relationship with the sport, which began in 1978 when the Swiss watchmaker partnered The Championships, Wimbledon. Thirty years later, in 2008, Rolex became Official Timekeeper of the Australian Open, and more recently reinforced its support of the women’s game by partnering the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA).
Laver remains the only player in the professional era to have won all four Grand Slam® tournaments in the same year, a feat he achieved in 1969, having previously done so as an amateur in 1962. He says:
“Rolex being part of the Australian Open is important for tennis and for our country on the global stage. It is a partnership that I have seen thrive over many years. I feel honoured that Australia has recognized my tennis achievements by putting my name on that beautiful big stadium. It is a great feeling to know that through this court, the legacy of my career continues in the sport today.”
Reigning champion Sinner capped a momentous 2024 by winning the Nitto ATP Finals and guiding Italy to a second successive Davis Cup victory in November. The 23-year-old will be among the players taking centre stage on Laver’s eponymous court as he aims to reproduce the precision and composure that enabled him to lift his maiden Grand Slam® trophy. Looking ahead to the tournament, Sinner says:
“Every season has its own story, and you never know what will happen, but for us, it always starts in Australia, which I’m very happy about. I always feel good playing at Melbourne Park. I really love the people and the fans – there is a great energy.”
Joining Sinner in the men’s singles draw will be four-time Grand Slam® champion Carlos Alcaraz, seeking to become the youngest player in history to complete the career Grand Slam®. Taylor Fritz, Stéfanos Tsitsipás, Holger Rune and Ben Shelton are among the other Rolex Testimonees standing in his path. Returning from the off-season refreshed and ready to begin their new campaigns, the Australian Open will provide a warm and welcoming stage for them to strive for Grand Slam® glory. And there is sure to be one Rolex legend eager to observe their pursuit of excellence and the crowning of champions on his iconic court.
