The River has rounded up the most important matches and competitions for sports fans to look out for in 2025.
Australian Open (tennis)
The 2025 tennis season began in Melbourne Australia, with the first Grand Slam tournament of the year, the Australian Open. It continues until January 26 at Melbourne Park and is the 113th edition of the tournament. Jannik Sinner and Aryna Sabalenka who are currently ranked first in men’s and women’s rankings respectively, are trying to defend their titles.
Six Nations (rugby union)
The 131st Six Nations will begin on 31 January and will conclude on 15 Match. It will feature England, Scotland, Wales, France, Italy and the current holders Ireland. England will play three host matches this year at Twickenham Stadium against France, Scotland and Italy. They will travel to Dublin and Cardiff to face Ireland, which will be the first game of their Six Nations campaign, and Wales which will be their last.
Super Bowl (American football)
The Super Bowl for the 2024 National Football League (NFL) season will take place on February 9 at the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana. The two teams are yet to be decided. The game is also known for its halftime show, this year it will performed by rapper Kendrick Lamar.
Formula One 2025 Season (motor racing)
The 2025 Formula One season will begin with the Australian Grand Prix on 16 March and will conclude on 7 December with the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. Max Verstappen will hope to win his fifth title in a row while McLaren are the defending constructors’ champions, after winning their first title in 26 years. It will also be a year of change for Lewis Hamilton who has left Mercedes after 12 seasons to join Ferrari. One of the most important races, the British Grand Prix will take place on 6 July in Silverstone.
World Indoor Athletics Championship
The 20th World Indoor Athletics Championship will take place in Nanjing in China from 21 to 23 March. The competition will take place at the newly built Nanjing Cube gymnasium. The Chinese city will host the event after it got postponed three times in 2020, 2021 and 2023, all due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
World Snooker Championship
The World Snooker Championship for 2025 will take place from April 19 to 5 May. It will be held at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield for the 49th consecutive year. Kyren Wilson is the defending champion and will hope to retain the trophy.
Conclusion of the men’s football season
The football leagues in England and Europe will come to an end in May and will decide who becomes champions, who will play in Europe next season and who will be relegated. Liverpool lead the title race in the Premier League and are six points ahead of Arsenal with a game in hand. It will be also interesting to watch who will win the La Liga, Serie A, Bundesliga and Ligue 1 titles.
May will feature finals such as the FA Cup final on 25 May at Wembley and the finals of the European competitions, with the Europa League final on 21 May in Bilbao, the Conference League final on 28 May in Wroclaw and most importantly, the Champions League final on 31 May in Munich.
Conclusion of the women’s football season
Also, in May the Women’s Super League will come to an end. Chelsea are six points ahead Manchester City and will hope to bring a sixth consecutive league title to Kingsmeadow. The Women’s Champions League final will be played on 24 May in Lisbon with Barcelona and Lyon as the two favourites to win the title. They are the only two teams to win the trophy since the 2015-16 season.
Roland Garros (tennis)
The Roland Garros tournament for 2025 will take place in Paris from 19 May to 8 June. Carlos Alcaraz and Iga Swiatek won the singles’ titles for 2024 and will look to repeat their victories.
Nations League (football)
The 2025 Nations League trophy will be decided between 4 to 8 June. The four finalists and the host will be decided after the quarter finals, which will take place in March adn are between Netherlands and Spain, Croatia and France, Italy and Germany and Portugal and Denmark. In March, England will begin their 2026 World Cup qualification campaign with Thomas Tuchel making his debut as the England manager.
Club World Cup (football)
The inaugural edition of the expanded Club World Cup will begin on 15 June and will conclude on 13 July. The tournament will take place in the USA and will feature 32 of the best teams in the world including Manchester City and Chelsea.
NBA Finals (basketball)
The 2025 NBA finals will be played in June following the conclusion of the regular season and the playoffs. The champions will be decided by a best-of-seven series. Boston Celtics won the title in 2024.
Wimbledon (tennis)
The Wimbledon tournament for 2025 will be played between 30 June and 13 July. It will be the 138th edition of the iconic grass surface tournament in London. Alcaraz and Barbora Krejcikova were the winners for last year.
Women’s Euro 2025 (football)
The Women’s Euro 2025 will take place in Switzerland from 2 July to 27 July. England have been placed in Group D along with France, Wales and the Netherlands and will hope to defend their title won three years before. World champions Spain will also be a big favourite to win the trophy.
Women’s Rugby World Cup
England will host the Women’s Rugby World Cup from 22 August to 27 September with the final taking place at Twickenham Stadium in London. The Red Roses will be hoping to become world champions on home soil after losing the 2021 final to New Zealand.
US Open (tennis)
The final Grand Slam event for 2025 will be the US Open which will be played between 25 August and 6 September in New York. It will be the 145th edition of the event, lastly won by Sinner and Sabalenka.
EuroBasket 2025 (basketball)
Basketball’s European Championship, EuroBasket, will be played from 27 August to 14 September. The tournament will take place in Cyprus, Finland, Poland and Latvia with the knockout stage taking place in the capital of Latvia, Riga. Spain are the current European champions and will have to fight to keep their title against the likes of Germany, France, Serbia, Greece and Slovenia among others. Great Britain will also try to make it to the tournament for the sixth time in their history.
Africa Cup of Nations 2025 (football)
The Africa Cup of Nations will take place from 21 December to 18 January 2026. The tournament, which will feature 24 of Africa’s best teams, will be hosted by Morocco for the second time and first since 1988. Ivory Coast were the last champions of Africa after beating Nigeria in February 2024.