3 breakthrough stars of Australian Open 2025 ft. Joao Fonseca

The first Major of the year, the 2025 Australian Open was full of action. The tournament saw some excellent matches at Melbourne Park where the top men's and women's players vied for the Melbourne Major.

Jannik Sinner and Madison Keys were the singles champions after defeating Alexander Zverev and Aryna Sabalenka in the respective finals. Several top players produced some impressive performances while some bit the dust early in Melbourne.

However, there were some unheralded players who produced some fine tennis at the Australian Open and went further than expected. On that note, let us take a look at three breakthrough stars from the Melbourne Major.

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#3 Eva Lys

In Picture: Eva Lys (Getty)

Germany's Eva Lys had one of the best runs in her career at the Australian Open. The unheralded player had lost her qualifying match against home favorite Destanee Aiva and her campaign had supposedly ended there.

However, 13th-seeded Anna Kalinskaya withdrew from the event at the last moment, allowing Lys to enter the main draw as the lucky loser. Once in the draw, the German player had an unprecedented run, reaching the fourth round with wins over Kimberly Birrell, Varvara Gracheva, and Jaqueline Cristian. Her run came to an end at the hands of second-seeded Iga Swiatek in the fourth round.

Her run at Melbourne saw Lys break into the top 100, and attain a career-high ranking of 91.

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#2 Learner Tien

In Picture: Learner Tien (Getty)

One of the best young players on the Tour and the runner-up at the ATP Next Gen Finals in 2024, Learner Tien went on an impressive run at the Australian Open. The American teenager reached the fourth round of the Major as a qualifier.

Tien got the better of Gregoire Barrere, Juan Pablo-Ficovich, and Jozef Kovalik in the qualifiers. He played an intense five-setter in the first round, winning against Camilo Ugo Carabelli. Tien's best result came in the next round when he defeated fifth-seeded and last year's runner-up Daniil Medvedev in a thrilling five-set match, which the youngster won in a match tiebreaker in the fifth set.

Tien continued his run with a win over Corentin Mouetet in the third round. The American was finally beaten by Lorenzo Sonego in the fourth round in four sets. However, his run at Melbourne Park saw Tien attain a career-high ranking of 80.

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#1 Joao Fonseca

Brazils' Joao Fonseca is one of the most promising young talents on the ATP Tour. The 18-year-old entered the Australian Open on the back of winning the ATP Next Gen Finals last year, and on a 9-match win streak as he won a Challenger event in Canberra before the Major.

The Brazilian was dominant throughout the qualifiers, winning in straight sets against the likes of Federico Gomez, Coleman Wong, and Thiago Augustin Tirante. In his first Grand Slam match, the Brazilian teenager defeated ninth-seeded Andrey Rublev in straight sets. This was the first instance of a teenager defeating a top-10 ranked player in their maiden Grand Slam match since Roger Federer lost to Mario Ancic at 2002 Wimbledon.

Although Fonseca lost in the next round to Sonego, his run at Melbourne Park helped him break into the Top 100 and reach a career-best ranking of 99.