It was a banner year for Australian tennis in 2024.
Alex de Minaur enjoyed his best season on tour, cracking the top 10 and reaching three Grand Slam quarterfinals.
Olivia Gadecki progressed to her first WTA singles final and debuted in the top 100.
Matt Ebden won the Australian Open men’s doubles title a month before rising to become world No.1, then formed half of Australia’s men’s doubles duo which went all the way to the gold medal at the Paris 2024 Games – Australia’s first Olympic tennis gold medal in 28 years.
Ellen Perez concluded her successful doubles season – during which she peaked at world No.7 – by qualifying for the elite eight-team WTA Finals.
On home soil, Aussies thrived on the Pro Tour, few more so than Omar Jasika and Destanee Aiava. Jasika at one point built a 29-match winning streak which took in three consecutive titles in Australia, while Aiava won tournaments in Brisbane and Cairns.
All six of those players will represent Australia at the United Cup later this month.
Team Australia is bound for Sydney’s Ken Rosewall Arena, where they will compete in Group F against Great Britain and Argentina.
TICKETS: Cheer on Team Australia at the United Cup in Sydney
They’ll fancy their chances, given the form of each team member and the fact they also flourished in team competitions this year.
Australia reached the semifinal stage of the Davis Cup Finals for the third consecutive year, while the Aussies also appeared in the last eight of the Billie Jean King Cup Finals.
Both teams finished 2024 inside the top five of the ITF nation rankings.
De Minaur and Ebden – joint winners of the prestigious Newcombe Medal on Monday – helped Australia advance to the semis in what was another impressive Davis Cup campaign under captain Lleyton Hewitt, who will also captain Team Australia at United Cup.
Two amazing ambassadors for Australian tennis 🏅🏅
— TennisAustralia (@TennisAustralia) December 9, 2024
Your 2024 Newcombe Medal winners, @alexdeminaur and @mattebden #Newks24 pic.twitter.com/Mcykn8rTuc
Both were feeling buoyed by the energy surrounding the Australian team leading into the 2025 season.
“It’s been an incredible year for Australian tennis and I’m just so happy to be part of it,” De Minaur said in his Newcombe Medal acceptance speech.
“Let’s all fight to have an even better year in 2025.”
Ebden loved representing Team Australia at the most recent edition of the United Cup, where the Aussies played at Perth’s RAC Arena just 15 minutes from his home.
“Honestly that did set the tone for the year. I got to have guaranteed all those matches, all the practice with my teammates, and be inspired by them, too. And get all the way through to the semifinals, we nearly won – we had match points,” Ebden said.
“But then took that form into the Australian summer – ended up with a Grand Slam win at the Australian Open. Won a Masters, that got us to the world No.1 ranking. And then a cherry on top was winning a gold medal for Australia [with John Peers] at the Olympics.”
Ebden believed the United Cup was unique.
“I don’t think anywhere in world sport we see men and women competing side by side for their country, at the same event on the same night or day,” he observed.
“That brings such a special camaraderie and I guess those emotions where you’re fighting for your teammates, and your country.”
In that mixed environment Ebden will be in the Aussie squad alongside Gadecki, who was thrilled to be representing Australia once more after making her Olympic debut at Paris 2024.
She was also trying to more fully embrace her newfound position as Australia’s leading female singles player.
“It’s definitely a big privilege, and it’s also definitely nerve-wracking. But it comes with being No.1, and it’s always been a dream [of mine] to be No.1 Aussie player, and I think it’s time that I sort of own that,” Gadecki told the Sydney Morning Herald.
“I would definitely love to start the year strong during the Aussie summer. It’s a great way to set the tone for the year, and to play in front of a home crowd is incredible.
“I think if I start well there, then I really set myself up for a great year, and I just want to stay healthy, happy and hopefully get down to top 25 would be nice.”
Team Australia opens its United Cup campaign against Argentina on the night of Saturday 28 December, before another night match on Wednesday 1 January versus Great Britain.
