Gauff, Fritz lead U.S. at 2025 Australian Open; Basavareddy draws Djokovic in R1

Women's third seed Coco Gauff and men's fourth seed Taylor Fritz lead the American representation in the 2025 Australian Open singles draws, which were revealed Thursday in Melbourne. After lifting the U.S. to the United Cup trophy in Sydney by posting a combined 9-1 singles record last week, Gauff and Fritz will hope to continue their winning ways at the year's first Grand Slam.

Gauff is one of four Americans among the Top 10 women's singles seeds, joining No. 7 Jessica Pegula, No. 8 Emma Navarro and No. 10 Danielle Collins. Madison Keys clocks in at No. 19, making it five American women among the seeds. There are also five American men seeded in Melbourne: Fritz, No. 12 Tommy Paul, No. 17 Frances Tiafoe, No. 21 Ben Shelton and No. 22 Sebastian Korda.

Three other Americans were drawn into marquee matchups in the first round: Nishesh Basavareddy will face Novak Djokovic, Sloane Stephens will meet defending champion and world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka, and Alex Michelsen will take on 2023 finalist Stefanos Tsitsipas.

Gauff in contention for world No. 1

Entering the Aussie Open at No. 3 in the WTA Rankings, Gauff could finish the fortnight as world No. 1 if she wins the title—depending on the results of Sabalenka and world No. 2 Iga Swiatek. The 20-year-old will open her campaign with an all-American matchup against 2020 AO champ Sofia Kenin. Gauff could face 2021 US Open finalist Leylah Fernandez in the third round, with Naomi Osaka looming as a possible fourth-round opponent.

If the seeds hold, Gauff and Pegula will square off in the quarterfinals. Pegula, last year's US Open runner-up, begins her Australian Open against Aussie wild card Maya Joint. The Stephens-Sabalenka showdown also dots the top half of the draw, with Gauff and Sabalenka seeded to meet in the semis.

Navarro and Peyton Stearns will meet in an all-American opening match in the bottom half, as will Keys and Ann Li. The winner of the latter match could face Collins, who opens against a qualifier, in the third round.

Fritz, Shelton together in loaded section

Both Fritz and Shelton will open against countrymen, with the pair pitted as potential fourth-round opponents in the draw's second quarter. Fritz meets Jenson Brooksby in his first match, with the dangerous 24-year-old entering with a protected ranking. Shelton will face Brandon Nakashima in the first round; with an ATP ranking of No. 37, Nakashima is one of the highest-ranked unseeded players in the draw. Also in that second quarter, Tiafoe opens against Arthur Rinderknech in a section that also includes Daniil Medvedev and Andrey Rublev.

World No. 41 Michelsen will contest one of the must-see matchups of the first round when he plays 11th seed Tsitsipas in the draw's top quarter. The 20-year-old American's best major result came last year in Melbourne, when he reached the third round.

For the full men's and women's singles draws, visit the official Australian Open website.