Auckland, New Zealand will miss Coco Gauff in 2025. The WTA No. 3 has won the ASB Classic in each of the last two seasons, but she will be skipping the event this year in order to play the United Cup. That is likely a better move (no offense to the ASB Classic) for several reasons.
One is that the United Cup, which got underway on Friday, has consistently tougher competition for Gauff, and every tournament beginning in 2025 is truly just to get players warmed up for the Australian Open later in January. Gauff could face players such as Iga Swiatek and Elena Rybakina, and each of them would have been the highest seed at the ASB Classic.
Still, there are enough interesting players in Auckland so tennis fans should tune in. In fact, there might be storylines that have potentially greater endings than at any other event in the first week of the month. Perhaps a player still working on a comeback could make a breakthrough and launch a very successful 2025 season.
When is the 2025 WTA ASB Classic?
The tournament will be held at the ASB Tennis Centre in Auckland and run from Monday, December 30 (or Sunday, December 29 if you live in the Western Hemisphere) through Sunday, January 5. The playing surface is GreenSet hard courts.
Who are the players to watch at the WTA ASB Classic?
The top seed is American Madison Keys and German Elise Mertens is seeded second. Perhaps of greater interest are Emma Raducanu and Naomi Osaka. Both came back to tennis in 2024 after dealing with injuries (and, in the case of Osaka, the birth of her first child) and were not consistently successful. Both are former Grand Slam champions and big draws, though.
Osaka and Raducanu are capable of going on great runs, so success in Auckland could springboard them to a very good year. Raducanu will begin her tournament against American Robin Montgomery, while Osaka will take on a qualifier.
What is the draw for the WTA ASB Classic?
Top-seed Keys certainly will not have an easy run to the final, at least on paper. The top half of the draw, which features Keys, also has Raducanu and fourth-seed Lul Sun. Mertens is in the bottom half and could potentially take on Osaka. Ana Anisimova also might lie in wait.
Main draw at Auckland (WTA 250), where Madison Keys and Elise Mertens are the top seeds. pic.twitter.com/1yjnZHZKnN
— WTA Insider (@WTA_insider) December 28, 2024
How to watch the 2025 WTA ASB Classic
The Tennis Channel will be your go-to to watch and stream the event in the United States. Sky Sports will be the place to watch in most of Europe and Great Britain.