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Djokovic faces Chardy, Kenin meets Inglis at Australian Open

Sofia Kenin kisses the Daphne Akhurst Memorial Cup after defeating Spain's Garbine Muguruza to win the 2020 Australian Open. (AP)
Sofia Kenin kisses the Daphne Akhurst Memorial Cup after defeating Spain's Garbine Muguruza to win the 2020 Australian Open. (AP)
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Djokovic faces Chardy, Kenin meets Inglis at Australian Open

Sofia Kenin kisses the Daphne Akhurst Memorial Cup after defeating Spain's Garbine Muguruza to win the 2020 Australian Open. (AP)
Sofia Kenin kisses the Daphne Akhurst Memorial Cup after defeating Spain's Garbine Muguruza to win the 2020 Australian Open. (AP)

Novak Djokovic will begin his Australian Open title defense against Frenchman Jeremy Chardy, while reigning women’s champion Sofia Kenin meets wild card Maddison Inglis, following the draw for the year’s first Grand Slam on Friday.

World number one Djokovic captured a record-extending eighth title at Melbourne Park last year by beating Dominic Thiem, who is seeded third and will face Kazakh Mikhail Kukushkin in the first round.

Rafa Nadal, seeking a first title at the major since 2009, will meet Serbia’s Laslo Djere in his opener.

The Spaniard is level with Roger Federer on 20 Grand Slam titles and looking to overtake the Swiss champion, who is not playing this year following knee surgery.

Top-ranked Ash Barty resumes her quest to become the first homegrown singles winner at the Australian Open since 1978 when the 24-year-old takes on Danka Kovinic.

American Serena Williams, bidding to win a record-equaling 24th major, will meet Laura Siegemund in the opening round.

Naomi Osaka, the 2019 champion, has a series of potentially tough matches starting with a clash against former quarter-finalist Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova.

The Japanese player could face Caroline Garcia and Ons Jabeur in her next two rounds before a likely match-up with either Garbine Muguruza or Angelique Kerber in the fourth round.

Second seed Simona Halep of Romania, a beaten finalist at Melbourne Park three years ago, will play wild card Lizette Cabrera while fifth-seeded Ukrainian Elina Svitolina faces Marie Bouzkova.

ATP Finals champion Daniil Medvedev, who lost in the fourth round in the previous two years, meets Canada’s Vasek Pospisil, while young guns Jannik Sinner and Denis Shapovalov are set to face off in what promises to be a blockbuster opener.

Fifth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas has a tricky test against French veteran Gilles Simon while Alexander Zverev and Andrey Rublev have relatively easier first rounds against Marcos Giron and Yannick Hanfmann, respectively.

Iga Swiatek, who made her breakthrough last year by winning the French Open title, takes on Arantxa Rus of the Netherlands while Venus Williams plays Kirsten Flipkens.

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Coco Gauff is Just 21 but Already Thinking About What to Do after Tennis

Coco Gauff of the US takes part in a practice session ahead of the Wimbledon Championships in London, Britain, 27 June 2025. The Wimbledon Championships 2025 will be played from 30 June to 13 July 2025. EPA/NEIL HALL
Coco Gauff of the US takes part in a practice session ahead of the Wimbledon Championships in London, Britain, 27 June 2025. The Wimbledon Championships 2025 will be played from 30 June to 13 July 2025. EPA/NEIL HALL
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Coco Gauff is Just 21 but Already Thinking About What to Do after Tennis

Coco Gauff of the US takes part in a practice session ahead of the Wimbledon Championships in London, Britain, 27 June 2025. The Wimbledon Championships 2025 will be played from 30 June to 13 July 2025. EPA/NEIL HALL
Coco Gauff of the US takes part in a practice session ahead of the Wimbledon Championships in London, Britain, 27 June 2025. The Wimbledon Championships 2025 will be played from 30 June to 13 July 2025. EPA/NEIL HALL

To be clear, Coco Gauff didn't bring up the word “star” during a recent interview with The Associated Press; the reporter did. So as Gauff began to answer a question about balancing her life as a professional athlete with her off-court interests, she caught herself repeating that term.

“I definitely didn’t know how it would look like,” she began with a smile, “before I got to be, I guess, a star — feels weird to call myself that — but I definitely did want to expand outside of tennis. Always. Since I was young.”

She still is young, by just about any measure, and she is a really good tennis player — Gauff owns the Grand Slam titles and No. 2 ranking to prove it as she heads into Wimbledon, which begins Monday — but the 21-year-old American is also more than that, The Associated Press reported.

Someone unafraid to express her opinions about societal issues. Someone who connects with fans via social media. Someone who is the highest-paid female athlete in any sport, topping $30 million last year, according to Sportico.com, with less than a third of that from prize money and most via deals with companies such as UPS, New Balance, Rolex and Barilla. Someone who recently launched her own management firm.

And someone who wants to succeed in the business world long after she no longer swings a racket on tour.

“It's definitely something that I want to start to step up for post-career. Kind of start building that process, which is why I wanted to do it early. Because I didn’t want to feel like I was playing catch-up at the end of my career,” said Gauff, who will face Dayana Yastremska in the first round at the All England Club on Tuesday.

“On the business side of things, it doesn’t come as natural as tennis feels. I’m still learning, and I have a lot to learn about," Gauff said. "I’ve debated different things and what paths I wanted to take when it came to just stimulating my brain outside of the court, because I always knew that once I finished high school that I needed to put my brain into something else.”

In a campaign announced this week by UPS, which first partnered with Gauff in 2023 before she won that year's US Open, she connects with business coach Emma Grede — known for working with Kim Kardashian on Skims, and with Khloe Kardashian on Good American — to offer mentoring to three small-business owners.

“Coco plays a key role in helping us connect with those younger Gen-Z business owners — emerging or younger entrepreneurs,” Betsy Wilson, VP of digital marketing and brand activation at UPS, said in a phone interview.

“Obviously, she’s very relevant in social media and in culture, and working with Coco helps us really connect with that younger group.”

While Grede helped the entrepreneurs, Gauff also got the opportunity to pick up tips.

“It's really cool to learn from someone like her,” Gauff said. “Whenever I feel like I’m ready to make that leap, I can definitely reach out to her for advice and things like that. ... This will help me right now and definitely in the long term.”