5 underachievers of Australian Open 2025 ft. Frances Tiafoe, Emma Raducanu

The 2025 Australian Open recently concluded, with Jannik Sinner successfully defending his title by defeating Alexander Zverev in the final. This title win was Sinner's second Melbourne Major win and his third Grand Slam title overall. In the women's singles event, Madison Keys emerged victorious by defeating the two-time defending champion Aryna Sabalenka to claim her first Grand Slam.

Despite the thrilling matches and impressive victories, the tournament also witnessed some top players failing to meet expectations. Both the men's and women's sides saw seeded players who fell short of reaching their full potential.

Let's take a look at some of the underachievers from the 2025 Australian Open:

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#5 Frances Tiafoe lost in the second round at Australian Open 2025

Frances Tiafoe at the 2025 Australian Open [Image Source: Getty Images]

Frances Tiafoe made his way to the 2025 Australian Open after competing at the Brisbane International, where he secured a victory over Adam Walton in the first round before being defeated by Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard in the second.

At the Grand Slam tournament, Tiafoe was seeded 17th and kicked off his campaign with a hard-fought win in the first round, triumphing 7-6(2), 6-3, 4-6, 6-7(4), 6-3 over Arthur Rinderknech before facing a tough loss to Fabian Marozsan in the second round, with a score of 7-6(3), 4-6, 6-3, 4-6, 1-6.

Tiafoe's best performance at the Melbourne Major came in 2019 when he reached the quarterfinals before being defeated by the eventual runner-up, Rafael Nadal.

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#4 Emma Raducanu made it to the third round

Emma Raducanu at the 2025 Australian Open [Image Source: Getty Images]

Emma Raducanu was scheduled to compete at the 2025 ASB Classic before beginning her campaign at the Australian Open. However, she had to withdraw from the tournament in Auckland due to a back injury.

Then at the first Grand Slam tournament of the year, Raducanu began by defeating 26th seed Ekaterina Alexandrova with a score of 7-6(4), 7-6(2) in the first round, followed by a victory over Amanda Anisimova with a score of 6-3, 7-5 in the second round. Her campaign came to an end in the third round when she was defeated by the second seed, Iga Swiatek, with a score of 6-1, 6-0.

Looking back at the 2024 Melbourne Major, Emma Raducanu had a successful start, defeating Shelby Rogers in the first round but her journey came to an end in the second round when she was defeated by Wang Yafan.

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#3 Stefanos Tsitsipas was defeated in the first round

Stefanos Tsitsipas at the 2025 Australian Open [Image Source: Getty Images]

Stefanos Tsitsipas was expected to make a strong showing at the 2025 Australian Open, given his impressive runner-up finish at the tournament in 2023.

However, this year Tsitsipas, seeded 11th, had a disappointing campaign as he was defeated in the first round by Alex Michelsen with a score of 5-7, 3-6, 6-2, 4-6. Michelsen then went on to achieve his best result at a Grand Slam tournament, reaching the fourth round before being eliminated by the eighth seed, Alex de Minaur.

Looking back on Stefanos Tsitsipas' best performance at the Melbourne Major in 2023, he had secured victories over the likes of Quentin Halys, Rinky Hijikata, Tallon Griekspoor, Jannik Sinner, Jiri Lehecka, and Karen Khachanov before ultimately losing to Novak Djokovic in the final.

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#2 Zheng Qinwen lost in the second round to Laura Siegemund

Zheng Qinwen at the 2025 Australian Open [Image Source: Getty Images]

Zheng Qinwen entered the 2025 Australian Open following a remarkable 2024 season, during which she claimed two titles: the Palermo Ladies Open and the Japan Women's Open. She also secured the gold medal at the Paris Olympics and finished as the runner-up at the Australian Open, Wuhan Open and the WTA Finals.

This year at the Melbourne Major, Zheng was seeded fifth and kicked off her campaign with a solid victory over qualifier Anca Todoni, winning 7-6(3), 6-1 in the first round. However, her campiagn ended in the second round when was defeated by Laura Siegemund with a score of 6-7(3), 3-6.

Last year, Zheng Qinwen defeated the likes of Ashlyn Krueger, Katie Boulter, Wang Yafan, and Oceane Dodin in the first four rounds. She then went on to triumph over Anna Kalinskaya in the quarterfinals and qualifier Dayana Yastremska in the semifinals before falling to Aryna Sabalenka in the final.

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#1 Daniil Medvedev was defeated in the second round by a qualifier

Daniil Medvedev at the 2025 Australian Open [Image Source: Getty Images]

Daniil Medvedev has consistently performed well at the Australian Open, finishing as the runner-up in three separate occasions: in 2021, 2022, and 2024, where he was defeated by Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, Jannik Sinner, respectively, in the finals.

This year at the Melbourne Major, Medvedev entered as the fifth seed and kicked off his campaign with a hard-fought victory over wild card Kasidit Samrej in a five-set match, winning 6-2, 4-6, 3-6, 6-1, 6-2. However, his journey was cut short in the second round when he was defeated by American qualifier Learner Tien in another intense five-set battle, losing 3-6, 6-7(4), 7-6(8), 6-1, 6-7(7).

In 2024, Daniil Medvedev defeated players such as Terence Atmane, Emil Ruusuvuori, Felix Auger-Aliassime, Nuno Borges, Hubert Hurkacz, and Alexander Zverev on his path to the final. He fell short of claiming the title in the championship match against Jannik Sinner, who secured his first Grand Slam title of his career .