Mystery over tennis star Daniil Medvedev’s absence from Australia is solved as he reveals his baby joy
- The world number 5 has not been seen Down Under before the grand slam
- Medvedev finished second in Melbourne last year after Jannik Sinner
Daniil Medvedev has raised eyebrows after failing to make it Down Under for warm-up tournaments ahead of the Australian Open, but he has now revealed he stayed away because his wife Daria has just given birth to their second child.
Last year’s runner-up in the men’s singles in Melbourne announced the happy news on Instagram on Wednesday, showing his followers a photo of himself cradling the newcomer in a hospital bed with his daughter Alisa, accompanied by the simple caption ‘Happy 2025 ‘. and a red love heart emoji.
Medvedev made no mention of the new baby’s name or gender, and many tennis fans expressed shock in the comments, saying they had no idea he and Daria were expecting.
She didn’t appear in his post and hadn’t been seen in court with him in months, and her last Instagram post from three months ago included a photo of her with Alisa that showed no sign of a baby bump.
The 28-year-old was also a no-show in the build-up tournaments for the Australian Open last year.
It didn’t hurt him to acclimatise to the Australian summer, however, as he won through to the men’s singles final, falling in five sets to Jannik Sinner, who stormed home despite winning the first two sets of dropped the match.
Daniil Medvedev left his fans in shock when he dropped the news that he has become a father for the second time by posting this photo of him with the newcomer and his daughter Alisa
The Russian star and his wife Daria (pictured together) have done a fantastic job keeping their heartwarming news a secret
Medvedev also won the first two sets of the 2022 men’s singles final in Melbourne before dropping the last three as Rafael Nadal became the first man to win 21 major titles.
He will discover just how difficult the road to the final is when the draw for this year’s tournament is announced on Thursday, Australian time.
Last year, the Russian star opened up about how becoming a father has changed his sometimes irritable personality on the pitch.
“Hopefully it will help me grow up a little bit,” he said.
‘I’m often still immature on the field, but I feel like I’m slowly improving every year. That’s my goal.
‘In life it has hopefully made me more mature and responsible. It’s certainly a big responsibility to be a father.’
Medvedev is pictured after his crushing defeat to Jannik Sinner in the men’s singles final in Melbourne last year – the second time he has lost the crown despite winning the first two sets
And last September, he spoke about his hopes for Alisa and how she has changed him.
‘I don’t always succeed in being the best father I want to be, but I succeed [raising a child] teaches you,” he said Tennis.com.
‘If something is not to her liking, she angrily throws a toy or bites it. My wife looks at me and says, “Okay, where did it come from?” And that’s kind of funny because you start to wonder if it’s just pure genetics and I don’t have an answer to that question.
“I can repeat ten times: ‘Alisa, let me help you with a car. It’s not running, so you have to turn it on.’ She won’t let you in until she decides she needs your help. Then she will come and give you the car. If you try to help without her accepting it, she will cry.
“Yes, my character.”