Sporting highlights in 2025: Key dates, world championships, biggest events to watch

It's a big year in the sporting landscape as we enter 2025, as we mark just one year to go to the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026.

With it being a non-Olympic year, there are world championships in almost every summer and winter sport on the Olympic programme, while Olympic qualifying events in winter sports are also scheduled for later in 2025.

Discover all the key dates in the 2025 sporting highlights calendar including when world championships take place in Olympics.com's handy guide below.

Key milestones in 2025 leading up to Milano Cortina 2026

The road to Milano Cortina 2026 picks up the pace in 2025, and it will be one year exactly until the Games begin on 6 February, while the 12 month countdown to the Paralympic Winter Games starts on 6 March.

The Olympic flame will embark on its “Greatest Journey”, across all 110 provinces of Italy, in December.

But first, the journey starts on 26 November in Olympia, Greece, where the traditional lighting of the Olympic flame takes place.

The flame will then arrive in Rome on 4 December before it is carried across the nation by around 10,000 torchbearers over the next 63 days. Before 2026, the torch will be in Naples on Christmas Day, and welcome in the New Year in Bari.

• What are the main Milano Cortina 2026 qualifiers in 2025?

Winter sports highlights in 2025

Alpine skiing

On 18–19 January the FIS Alpine Skiing World Cup women's downhill and super G will serve as an Olympic test event on the iconic track of the Olympia delle Tofane.

The FIS Alpine World Ski Championships will run from 4–16 February in Saalbach-Hinterglemm, where Mikaela Shiffrin will look to become the most decorated skier of all time. The American is one medal behind Christl Cranz’s overall record of 14, and could therefore make history in Austria.

From there the 2024–25 FIS Alpine Ski World Cup season concludes with the finals in Sun Valley, USA, from 22–27 March. Henrik Kristoffersen holds a commanding lead in the men’s overall standings, while Shiffrin is hoping to leapfrog current women’s leader Camille Rast of Switzerland. Shiffrin is on 99 World Cup wins heading into 2025.

Dates for the 2025–26 World Cup season are TBC, with that campaign building up the anticipation for Milano Cortina 2026.

Biathlon

From 23–26 January, Anterselva will be the stage for an Olympic test event when hosting the IBU Biathlon World Cup stop.

The Biathlon World Championships take place in Switzerland for the very first time from 12–23 February, with the Alpine town of Lenzerheide playing host.

France (six) and Norway (four) won 10 of the 12 gold medals on offer in 2024, with Norway’s five-time Olympic champion Johannes Thingnes Boe hoping to add to his 20 world titles.

The world championships fall just before the Biathlon World Cup season concludes with three events in March, with Oslo Holmenkollen the final stop from 21–23 March.

The 2025–26 World Cup starts in Östersund, Sweden, on 29 November.

Bobsleigh (including Skeleton)

After the World Cup campaigns conclude in Lillehammer for both bobsleigh and skeleton, all eyes turn to the IBSF World Championships in Lake Placid, USA, from 8–15 March.

Germany dominated the 2024 worlds, winning 15 of the 21 medals on offer, including six golds, with Francesco Friedrich, Laura Nolte and Lisa Buckwitz among the Olympic champions within their team.

The athletes will then get a taste of the Milano Cortina 2026 track at the beginning of the 2025–26 season, with the new season starting at the Eugenio Monti Sliding Centre in Cortina d'Ampezzo from 17–23 November. Prior to this, IBSF athletes have a 10-day International Training Period from 7–16 November to help them learn the new Olympic track.

Curling

The World Women’s Curling Championship runs from 15–23 March in Uijeongbu, Republic of Korea, with 13 nations aiming to win the world title and earn vital Olympic Qualification Points ahead of Milano Cortina 2026.

That is also the case at the World Men’s Curling Championship in Moose Jaw, Canada, from 29 March to 6 April. Reigning men’s Olympic champions Sweden are also the defending world champions, while Canada won the women’s world title in 2024.

The World Mixed Doubles Curling Championship takes place in Fredericton, Canada, from 26 April to 3 May.

The final two places in each event at Milano Cortina 2026 will then be decided by an Olympic Qualification Event in December.

Figure skating

A packed few months of championships to start the year begins with the European Championships in Tallinn, Estonia from 27 January to 2 February.

The Four Continents Figure Skating Championships will then take place in Seoul, Republic of Korea, from 18–23 February. Canada’s Deanna Stellato-Dudek and Maxime Deschamps are the defending pairs champions, so too in the world championships.

Stellato-Dudek and Deschamps will aim to defend their world title at the ISU World Figure Skating Championships in Boston, USA, which run 25–30 March. Japan’s Sakamoto Kaori is the three-time reigning world champion in the women’s singles.

Ice hockey

Six nations are already through to the women’s event at Milano Cortina 2026, but there are Olympic qualifiers taking place for further spots from 6–9 February in Japan, Sweden and Germany. The 4 Nations Face-Off – featuring Canada, Finland, Sweden and USA – is from 12–20 February in Montreal and Boston, featuring top NHL players competing together for their national teams.

The IIHF Women's World Championship runs from 9–20 April in České Budějovice, Czechia, while the IIHF Men’s World Championship will take place in Stockholm, Sweden, and Herning, Denmark, from 9–25 May.

The 2024–25 NHL season will conclude with the Stanley Cup Finals in June, with the playoffs starting in April. Florida Panthers are the defending champions.

Luge

After four World Cup events in January, attention turns to Whistler, Canada, where the FIL World Luge Championships will be held from 6–8 February. Australia won four golds at the 2024 worlds, while Germany – who did a clean sweep of the golds at Beijing 2022 – won three golds.

The 2024–25 World Cup season then finishes with a double-header in Asia, in Pyeongchang, Republic of Korea, on 14–16 February and then Yanqing, People's Republic of China, on 21-23 February.

There will then be crucial events for Olympic qualification at the start of next season, with athletes competing for vital points at the World Cups in Innsbruck (5–7 December), Park City (11–13 December) and Lake Placid (19–21 December).

Nordic skiing (Cross-country skiing, Nordic combined, and Ski jumping)

The first Olympic test event of 2025 will be the closing days of the Tour de Ski, featuring cross-country skiing, scheduled on 3–5 January on the slopes of Val di Fiemme.

The 2025 Nordic skiing season is then headlined by the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships in Trondheim, Norway from 26 February to 9 March. Five-time Olympic champion Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo is hoping to climb further up the all-time list with nine cross-country skiing world golds already to his name.

Klaebo faces competition from compatriot Harald Østberg Amundsen for overall World Cup glory, while Jessie Diggins, Victoria Carl, Jonna Sundling, Therese Johaug – all four are Olympic champions in various events – are battling it out in the overall women’s standings.

The Lahti Ski Games will bring an end to the World Cup seasons in cross-country skiing, Nordic combined and ski jumping, running from 21–23 March. Norway’s Jarl Magnus Riiber and Ida Marie Hagen won the Nordic combined World Cup last season, with Stefan Kraft and Nika Prevc the defending champions in the ski jumping.

Short track speed skating

The 2024–25 ISU Short Track World Tour concludes on 14–16 February with an Olympic test event in Milan, 12 months ahead of Milano Cortina 2026.

A month later, the world’s best skaters will compete at the ISU World Short Track Speed Skating Championships in Beijing from 14–16 March. In 2024, Canada’s Kim Boutin – who has picked up one silver and three Olympic silvers – won her first world gold in the 500m.

The focus then switches to the following season where Olympic qualifying is the aim in the Short Track World Tour, with four stops crucial to reaching Milano Cortina 2026: 16–19 October in Montreal, 23–26 October in Salt Lake City, 20–23 November in Gdansk and 27–30 November in Tilburg.

Ski mountaineering

Ahead of its Olympic debut at Milano Cortina 2026, the ISMF World Ski Mountaineering Championships will take place in Morgins, Switzerland, from 3–8 March.

Another Olympic test event sees Bormio play host on 22–23 February for the ISMF Ski Mountaineering World Cup

The athletes to watch out for in “skimo” are Spain’s Oriol Cardona Coll, who is the men’s world number one and won the sprint race at the 2023 worlds, while France’s Axelle Gachet Mollaret won three golds at those championships.

In the World Cup, however, France’s Thibaud Anselmet and Emily Harrop are the reigning overall and sprint champions, and that competition will also help determine the spots for Milano Cortina 2026, with the Olympic qualification period ending on 21 December.

The 2024–25 World Cup campaign concludes in Tromso, Norway on 10–13 April.

Snowboard, Freestyle & Freeski

The action starts early in 2025 with the a host of World Cup events and then the X Games in Aspen from 23–25 January.

Get ready for a two-week feast of action in Switzerland this March, with the FIS Freestyle World Championships taking place in St. Moritz as the world’s biggest stars compete in the slopestyle, halfpipe, big air, cross, parallel giant slalom, parallel slalom, aerials and moguls disciplines.

Two-time Olympic champion Eileen Gu will be among the stars on show, and after missing the 2023 worlds the freestyle skier will be out to regain the titles that she won in 2021: in the halfpipe and slopestyle (she also won bronze in the big air). Chloe Kim, the snowboarding sensation who won halfpipe gold at 2018 Pyeongchang and 2022 Beijing, is aiming to win a third world title herself.

Livigno will then stage an Olympic test event, with the FIS Aerials and Moguls World Cup scheduled for 8–14 March.

Speed skating

The 2024–25 ISU Speed Skating World Cup heads to Calgary, Milwaukee and Tomaszów Mazowiecki before concluding in Heerenveen from 28 February to 2 March.

Jordan Stolz, 20, is a name to look out for after the American won five golds at the 2023 World Junior Championships, and then three goals at both the 2023 and 2024 World Single Distances Championships.

The 2025 World Single Distances Speed Skating Championships take place in Hamar, Norway from 13-16 March, where Stolz will hope to continue his domination.

In the women’s events, two-time Olympic champion Takagi Miho of Japan and the Netherlands’ three-time world champion Femke Kok are among the names to look out for.

Summer sports highlights in 2025

Aquatics (Artistic swimming, Diving, Swimming, Marathon swimming, and Water polo)

A variety of World Cup events across all aquatics disciplines will get going early in 2025, with all athletes building up towards the World Aquatics Championships, taking place from 11 July to 3 August 2025 in Singapore. Water polo will kick off the event and artistic swimming takes place in the second week, with swimming and diving the last two disciplines.

Leon Marchand won three swimming golds at the 2023 worlds, the perfect preparation for his incredible four-gold haul at his home Olympics in 2024.

Archery

Five-time Olympic champion Kim Woo-jin will be among the archers gearing their season around the World Archery Championships in Gwangju, Republic of Korea, from 5–12 September.

Athletics

After a thrilling athletics programme at Paris 2024 featured some of the closest races in history, it’s worth seeing how the champions and their nearest rivals fare throughout 2025.

The World Athletics Indoor Championships are heading to Nanjing in the People’s Republic of China from 21–23 March. The women’s 100m champion from Paris, Julien Alfred, won the 60m indoors world title in 2024, while the men’s 100m Olympic champion Noah Lyles is out to upgrade on the 60m silver he won at Glasgow 2024.

The World Athletics Championships are in Tokyo, Japan, with the National Stadium playing host four years after hosting the Olympics. Those championships run from 13–21 September, where there will be scores to settle in the 100m once more – Lyles won that 2023 title, while Sha'Carri Richardson was the women’s 100m winner in Budapest.

Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone will be on a mission too. The four-time Olympic champion, winner of the 400m hurdles in Tokyo and Paris, missed the 2023 worlds, when rival Femke Bol won in the American’s absence.

A vast array of stars will be in Diamond League action, and before the worlds the Diamond League Finals take place in Zurich, Switzerland, from 27–28 August, with the 14 meets prior held between April and August.

Badminton

Xiamen in the People’s Republic of China will host the 16-nation Sudirman Cup Finals from 27 April to 4 May, with the hosts also the defending champions.

The BWF World Championships are heading back to Paris from 25–31 August. Kunlavut Vitidsarn won silver at Paris 2024 but is the reigning men’s world champion, while An Se-young is both the defending Olympic and world champion after a dominant two years.

The BWF World Tour Finals will then take place in Hangzhou in the People’s Republic of China from 10–14 December.

Baseball-softball

Qualifying for the 2026 World Baseball Classic will be held in early 2025, with one pool event taking place in Taipei on 21–25 February, and the second pool event in Arizona, United States, from 2–6 March.

The 2025 Major League Baseball season starts on 18 March and will conclude in October or November with the World Series. The Los Angeles Dodgers are the reigning champions.

In women's softball, the biggest tournament of the year is the World Games competition, with Chengdu in the People’s Republic of China hosting the event from 13–17 August. Non-Olympic men's softball runs from 6–10 August.

Basketball (including Basketball 3×3)

The NBA season is in full flow at the start of the year. The NBA All-Star 2025 weekend is on 14–16 February, the playoffs begin on 19 April, while the finals will run throughout June.

The WNBA regular season begins on 16 May, with the last possible date for those finals 17 October. The WNBA All-Star Game is on 19 July.

The FIBA 3x3 World Cup 2025 is taking place in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, from 23–29 June, with Baku, Azerbaijan, hosting the FIBA 3x3 World Cup Qualifiers a month earlier on 24–25 May.

Canoeing (slalom and sprint)

There will be World Championships and World Cups held across the International Canoe Federation’s 10 disciplines between April and November.

Among the key dates to look out for, the ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships are in Milan, Italy, from 20–24 August.

The ever-thrilling slalom will then take centre stage in October, with the ICF Canoe Slalom World Championships in Penrith, Australia, from 1-6 October.

Jessica Fox is already the women’s GOAT with 14 world titles, and the three-time Olympic champion from Australia will be out to add to her haul, although she is likely to face competition from Team GB’s seven-time world champion Mallory Franklin, who won C1 silver behind Fox at Paris 2024.

Cricket

The thrilling T20 format that will be on show at the 2028 LA Olympics is headlined by the Indian Premier League in 2025, running from 14 March to 25 May with some of the world’s biggest men’s stars competing in India. The Women's Premier League starts in India on 21 February and concludes on 16 March.

After that, the two best men’s Test nations will compete in the ICC World Test Championship Final at Lord’s in London from 11-15 June, with India twice runners-up in that event, losing to New Zealand (2021) and Australia (2023).

The standout Test series will be the 2025–26 Men’s Ashes between Australia and England, which starts on 21 November in Perth. The Women’s Ashes are played across three formats and run from 12 January until 2 February.

The highlight of the women’s calendar falls in September and October with the Women's Cricket World Cup, a 50-over tournament.

Cycling – BMX (freestyle and racing)

The 2025 UCI BMX Racing World Championships will take place from 28 July to 3 August 2025 in Copenhagen, Denmark.

France’s Joris Daudet will be out to defend his world title after a memorable 2024 also saw him win the Olympics BMX gold – one of the standout moments of Paris 2024 as Daudet led a France 1-2-3 clean sweep of the podium. Alise Willoughby is the defending women’s world champion. She won silver at Rio 2016, and was sixth in the Paris 2024 final as Australia’s Saya Sakakibara won gold.

The freestyle BMXers will head to Riyadh in Saudi Arabia for the UCI Urban Cycling World Championships from 4–8 November.

Cycling – Mountain bike

The highlight of the year is the fortnight-long UCI Mountain Bike World Championships, with Valais in Switzerland staging the event from 1–14 September.

Olympic cross-country champion Tom Pidcock is set to target world glory, having won bronze at the last world championships, a year after winning the 2023 title.

Cycling – Road

Cycling fans will want to put the dates of the Grand Tours in their calendars. In the men’s, it all starts with the Giro d'Italia from 9 May to 1 June. The Tour de France runs 5–27 July and the Vuelta a España is 23 August to 14 September.

The women’s major tours start with La Vuelta Feminina from 5–11 May, the Giro d'Italia Women is 6–13 July and the Tour de France Femmes 26 July to 3 August.

All that falls before the UCI Road World Championships from 21–28 September, where history will be made as Kigali in Rwanda becomes the first-ever African host of the worlds. Remco Evenepoel is the defending time trial world champion, having won the 2024 event after winning an historic Paris 2024 double gold in the road race and time trial.

Olympic bronze medallist Lotte Kopecky is the two-time women’s defending road race champion, while Tadej Pogačar won the men’s road race world title in 2024.

Cycling – Track

The 2025 track season is all building up towards the 2025 UCI Track World Championships in the Chilean capital of Santiago, which will stage the event 22–26 October.

Before that, the first round of the UCI Track Nations Cup will take place in the first part of the year.

Among the stars in action will be Harrie Lavreysen, the Dutch supremo known as “Harrie Hat-trick”. He won three golds at Paris 2024, living up to his nickname, having previously won 16 world titles – taking three golds at each of the 2020, 2021 and 2024 events.

Equestrian (dressage, eventing, and jumping)

The World Cup seasons continue in January, and will conclude with the FEI Jumping World Cup Final on 1–6 April in Basel, Switzerland.

There is then the FEI Jumping European Championship on 16–20 July and FEI Jumping Asian Championship from 24 November to 7 December, when the FEI Dressage Asian Championship will also take place. The FEI Dressage European Championship occurs 28–31 August.

In eventing, the FEI Eventing European Championship is at Blenheim Palace, UK, from 18–21 September, with the FEI Eventing Asian Championship also in Thailand with the other two disciplines in November and December.

Fencing

Fencers will be en garde and going for gold in Tbilisi, Georgia, from 20–30 July when the FIE World Championships take place.

That falls after the end of the FIE Fencing World Cup season, which is already underway and set to conclude in Madrid, Spain, on 23–25 May.

Flag football

Flag football will be making its Olympic debut at LA 2028, and with the next world championships in 2026, the focus in 2025 will be the IFAF’s Continental Championships, dates and schedules to be confirmed.

Football

After domestic campaigns finish in Europe, it’s all eyes on the Women’s Euro 2025 competition, with England’s Lionesses winning the previous edition in 2022. This time around, 16 nations are going for glory in Switzerland from 2–27 July.

The new-look 32-team FIFA Men’s Club World Cup 2025 runs from 14 June to 13 July across the USA, with holders Real Madrid and past winners Manchester City among the clubs in action.

Other dates to look out for include the UEFA Men’s Champions League final on 31 May in Munich, and the UEFA Women's Champions League final on 25 May in Lisbon.

Another international competition sees the men’s UEFA Nations League Finals take place from 4–8 June.

The end of the year will see the start of the CAF Africa Cup of Nations, which begin in Morocco on 21 December and conclude on 18 January 2026.

Golf

The first of the four men’s majors is The Masters, which runs from 10–13 April. That is followed by the PGA Championship on 15–18 May, the US Open on 12–15 June and The Open on 17–20 July.

Scottie Scheffler enjoyed a dominant 2024, winning a thrilling gold medal at Paris 2024 as well as winning The Masters. He will be out to reclaim the Ryder Cup with Team USA, who host holders Team Europe in the popular team event at Farmingdale in New York from 25–28 September.

The first of the five women’s majors is The Chevron Championship on 24–27 April. USA’s Nelly Korda is the defending champion of that event, with the majors to follow being the U.S. Women's Open on 29 May to 1 June, the PGA Championship from 19–22 June, the Evian Championship from 10–13 July and the British Open from 31 July to 3 August.

Lydia Ko won the final major of 2024, the British Open, just two weeks after winning gold at Paris 2024.

Gymnastics (Artistic, Rhythmic, and Trampoline)

The 2025 FIG Artistic Gymnastics World Cup series has six stops between February and April, while the Rhythmic Gymnastics World Cup runs from April to July. There are also six Trampoline World Cup events between February and October, while all three disciplines have world championships in 2025.

First, 2016 Olympic hosts Rio de Janeiro will stage the Rhythmic Gymnastics World Championships from 20–24 August. It’s over to Asia for the FIG Artistic Gymnastics World Championships, which are taking place in Jakarta, Indonesia, from 19–25 October.

And then in Europe, the FIG Trampoline Gymnastics World Championships will be held in Pamplona, Spain, from 6–9 November.

Handball

The 2025 World Men's Handball Championship is just around the corner, with Croatia, Denmark and Norway all staging the event from 14 January to 2 February. Denmark won gold at Paris 2024, and they have also won the past three world championships.

To close out the year, the World Women's Handball Championship will be jointly hosted by Germany and the Netherlands from 27 November to 14 December.

France beat Norway in the 2023 final, but it was a reverse in the Olympics, with Norway beating hosts France 29–21 in the gold-medal match.

The 2024–25 EHF European League season finishes on 25 May with the final, while the Women's EHF European League will conclude earlier that month on 4 May.

Hockey

The FIH Indoor Hockey World Cup takes place in Porec, Croatia, from 3–9 February for both men’s and women’s teams.

Both the men’s and women’s FIH Pro League seasons are already under way and conclude on 29 June, with nine nations competing for glory in both competitions. Australia are the defending men’s champions, and Netherlands the women’s.

There is also the Men's FIH Hockey Nations Cup 2 in Muscat, Oman, from 17 to 23 February 2025, which determines qualification for the FIH Hockey Nations Cup. The Women's FIH Hockey Nations Cup is being held in Santiago, Chile, from 23 February to 2 March.

The men’s and women’s EuroHockey Championship will be held in Mönchengladbach, Germany from 8–17 August.

Judo

Grand Slam events start in February with continental championships then being held around the world in late April. That is all building up to the IJF World Senior Championships, taking place from 13–20 June in Budapest, Hungary.

Japan led the way at Paris 2024 with three judo golds and eight medals overall, with France picking up the most medals overall (10) and winning two golds, led by the legendary Teddy Riner who won his individual event and team gold.

Lacrosse

It is not a year for senior world championship events in lacrosse, but the Men’s U20 Championship will take place in the Republic of Korea from 15–24 August.

After a variety of continental championships, The World Games 2025 are the highlight of the year in Chengdu, the People’s Republic of China, and the lacrosse competitions take place on 7-11 August.

China, Canada, United States, Australia and Great Britain are already in that competition, with the last three spots decided by the European Sixes Championship in Portugal in March and Asia-Pacific Women’s Lacrosse Championship in January.

Modern pentathlon

The UIPM 2025 Pentathlon World Cup heads to Egypt for the Pentathlon World Cup Final in Alexandria on 4–6 June.

The UIPM 2025 Pentathlon World Championships will then be held in Druskininkai, Lithuania from 27–31 August. Olympic champion Michelle Gulyás of Hungary is chasing her first world title after individual bronze in 2021 and silver in 2022.

Rowing (including Coastal rowing)

The 2025 World Rowing Championships are taking place in Shanghai, China, from 21–28 September. Before that, the European Rowing Championships are in Plovdiv, Bulgaria, from 29 May to 1 June.

The 2025 European Rowing Coastal and Beach Sprint Championships are on 9–13 October, and the 2025 World Rowing Beach Sprint Finals in Rio de Janeiro from 23–26 October. Coastal rowing makes its debut at LA 2028.

Rugby Sevens

The 2024–25 SVNS season is already underway with two events down in 2024 and five more to come in 2025, starting with Perth on 24–26 January and ending with Los Angeles on 3-4 May.

France are the defending men’s champions, having also famously won gold at Paris 2024, while Rio 2016 winners Australia are the defending women’s champions.

Sailing

The Ocean Race Europe is scheduled to start on 10 August in Kiel, Germany, while the SailGP season has already started and is heading to Auckland first in 2025, on 18–19 January, and concluding in Abu Dhabi on 29–30 November.

There are a whole host of championships throughout the year, including the 470 World Championships in Gdynia, Poland from 6–14 June.

Shooting

Malakasa, Greece, and Cairo, Egypt, will stage the ISSF World Championships in shotgun and in rifle/pistol respectively.

The ISSF World Championship Shotgun runs in Greece from 8–19 October before the ISSF World Championship Rifle/Pistol in Egypt from 6–16 November.

Skateboarding (Park and Street)

The World Skateboarding Tour competition is heading to three continents in 2025, and will kick off in June in Rome. The tour then heads to Washington D.C. in September and Fukuoka in late November.

The summer X Games include skateboarding, with Sacramento confirmed as hosts for three years running starting from 2025, with that edition running 22–24 August.

Sport climbing

The IFSC World Cup season starts in China in April before heading to Indonesia, Brazil and USA among other nations, with climbers building up towards the IFSC World Championships, taking place 21–28 September in Seoul, the Republic of Korea.

Legendary climber Janja Garnbret, who defended her Olympic gold in Paris 2024, leads the way with eight world titles, and will be hoping to add to her tally in September.

Squash

Squash is one of five new sports at LA28, and its biggest event of 2025? Pretty much at the end, with the WSF World Cup taking place in Chennai, India, from 9–14 December.

Before that, a host of tournaments are taking place across the globe, with the WSF World Masters Tour running from January to October.

Squash will also feature at The World Games in Chengdu, China, from 7–17 August.

Table tennis

It’s a busy year, and from 17–25 May 2025 the ITTF World Table Tennis Championships Finals will be held in Doha, Qatar.

World Table Tennis have expanded their Grand Smashes, with four events taking place across the globe.

The four majors will be: Singapore Smash from 30 January to 9 February, the United States Smash in Las Vegas from 3–13 July, the Europe Smash in Malmö, Sweden, for 14–24 August, and the China Smash in Beijing from 25 September to 5 October.

There will also be six events for the WTT Champions Series, with the Finals on 25–30 November at a host city to be confirmed. Double Paris 2024 Olympic champion Wang Chuqin has won the last three men’s WTT Finals.

Taekwondo

The 2025 World Taekwondo Championships are taking place in Wuxi, China, from 24–30 October.

Before that, the World Taekwondo Grand Prix series is heading to the USA, Thailand and Republic of Korea, with the Grand Prix final location TBD.

Tennis

The first Grand Slam of the year takes place in Melbourne with the Australian Open running from 12–26 January. Nick Kyrgios is returning to action at his home slam, while Paris 2024 champion Novak Djokovic is chasing his 25th major, and if not in Australia he could do it at the scene of his Olympic triumph, at Roland Garros, with the French Open on 25 May to 8 June.

Wimbledon headlines the short grass-court season, taking place 30 June to 13 July this year, before the US Open closes out the Grand Slam action on 25 August to 7 September.

The seasons conclude with the year-end finals. The WTA Finals are on 1–8 November in Riyadh, with the ATP Finals in Torino the following week, 9–16 November.

Triathlon

The World Triathlon Championship Series season starts earlier than usual with the opener in Abu Dhabi on 14–15 February. That competition concludes with the Championship Finals on 15–19 October in Wollongong, Australia.

Both Olympic champions from Paris, Alex Yee and Cassandre Beaugrand, also won the 2024 editions of the World Triathlon Championship Series to cap off memorable years.

Volleyball (beach and indoor)

After the indoor volleyball club season concludes, attention switches to the FIVB Volleyball Nations League for both the men and women. The women’s Nations League starts on 4 June and finishes on 27 July, with the men’s Nations League under way on 11 June and concluding on 3 August.

Serbia will then look to defend their world title at the FIVB Women's Volleyball World Championship in Thailand from 22 August to 7 September, before the men’s champions Italy chase a fifth title in the FIVB Men's Volleyball World Championship in the Philippines from 12–28 September.

The beach volleyball season is headlined by the men’s and women’s FIVB Beach Volleyball World Championships, being held in Adelaide, Australia, from 14 to 23 November.

Weightlifting

Both the European and African Championships take place in April, with the Asian Championships in May, and both the Oceania and Pan-American Championships in July.

All that will be a prelude to the event of the year in weightlifting, the IWF World Championships, taking place in Forde, Norway, from 3–12 October.

Wrestling

The 2025 season for wrestling will be geared around preparations for the UWW Seniors World Championships in Croatia, with Zagreb staging the event from 13–21 September.

The Ranking Series, which are the main international tournaments, have four stops from February to July.

Other multi-sport events in 2025

The 2025 Winter World University Games are being held in Torino, Italy from 13–23 January, with the Summer World University Games in Rhine-Ruhr, Germany from 16–27 July.

At the continental level, the Asian Winter Games make a return in Harbin, People's Republic of China, from 7–14 February.

The 2025 World Games, featuring 35 sports including gymnastics, squash and softball, are taking place in Chengdu, China, from 6-17 August.

For the first time, Olympic Esports Games are due to take place. Saudi Arabia will act as hosts in 2025, although dates and a host city have not yet been confirmed.

Additionally, the Winter X Games Aspen are from 23–25 January, with the Summer X Games taking place in Sacramento from 22–24 August.