50 Fun Facts About Australian Open

In which city is the Australian Open played?

It has been staged in five Australian cities and two in New Zealand, but has stayed in Melbourne since 1972.

Where does the Australian Open fall in the calendar of the four Grand Slams?

It usually starts in mid-January, and top players have complained it comes too soon after the holidays.

On what surface has the Australian Open been played since its 1988 move to Flinders Park?

Three brands have been used since 1988: green Rebound Ace, blue Plexicushion and, since 2020, blue GreenSet.

Which surface did the Australian Open use before 1988?

The last grass edition was at Kooyong in 1987, when Stefan Edberg beat Pat Cash in the final.

What nickname is the Australian Open known by?

It is also the best-attended major, drawing more than 1.3 million people including qualifying in 2026.

Under what name was the tournament first held in 1905?

It became the Australian Championships in 1927 and the Australian Open in 1969.

Which country outside Australia has hosted the tournament?

Christchurch hosted in 1906 and Hastings in 1912, back when the event was 'Australasian'.

Which venue hosted the tournament from 1972 until the move to Flinders Park in 1988?

Attendance jumped 90 percent in the first year at the new site.

Roughly how long did the ship voyage from Europe to Australia take in the 1920s?

The first players to arrive by aircraft were the US Davis Cup team in November 1946.

Why was there no Australian Open at all in 1986?

The 1985 edition ended in December and the next began in January 1987, so a calendar year was skipped.

The other three majors went open in 1968. In which year did the Australian tournament admit professionals?

The first Australian Open was held on the Milton Courts in Brisbane, and Rod Laver won it on his way to the Grand Slam.

Which man won a record tenth Australian Open singles title in 2023?

His tenth came in 2023; by then he had won all ten Melbourne finals he had reached.

Which Australian holds the record of eleven women's singles titles?

Her 24 major singles titles remain the all-time record; the second show court is named after her.

Which Australian won a record five consecutive men's titles from 1963 to 1967?

'Emmo' held the record of six titles until Djokovic passed it in 2019.

Which Swede is the only player to have won the tournament on both grass and hard courts?

He won on Kooyong's grass in 1983 and 1984 and on Rebound Ace in 1988.

Which two players won the Australian Open on both Rebound Ace and Plexicushion?

The green Rebound Ace was replaced after 20 years in 2008 partly because it retained too much heat.

Which is the main show court at the tournament?

It opened in 1988 as the National Tennis Centre and took its current name in 2000.

Roughly how many spectators does the main show court seat for tennis?

It was the first Grand Slam stadium with a retractable roof, so play can go on in rain or extreme heat.

Which Melbourne Park arena opened in 1988 with a numbered name and was renamed in 2003?

It was renamed in 2003 and gained a roof and 7,500 seats in a mid-2010s rebuild.

John Cain Arena, the third roofed court, opened in 2000 under which sponsor's name?

It became Hisense Arena in 2008 before being renamed for the former Victorian premier.

The Australian Open was the first Grand Slam to have how many main courts fitted with retractable roofs?

Rod Laver, Margaret Court and John Cain arenas can all be closed for rain or extreme heat.

What is the fourth major show court, unveiled in November 2021, called?

The 5,000-seat stadium was the centrepiece of a A$271 million redevelopment.

Which court surface brand has been used since 2020?

The organisers changed supplier but kept the famous blue cushioned acrylic look.

What is the men's singles trophy called?

Brookes played the event only once, winning in 1911, but was Australia's first great champion.

The women's singles trophy is named after which five-time champion of the 1920s?

She won in 1925, 1926, 1928, 1929 and 1930 and died in 1933 aged just 29.

In 2021 the Australian Open became the first Grand Slam to do what at every match?

It was a way to cut on-site staff during the pandemic; the tournament itself was pushed back three weeks to February.

How does the Australian Open settle a deciding set that reaches six games all?

It adopted the format in 2019, and by 2022 all four majors had standardised on it.

Since 2024 the tournament has started on which day of the week?

Day sessions were also cut to two matches to stop play dragging into the early hours.

In what year was the tournament's Extreme Heat Policy first introduced?

The current version, from 2019, uses a 1-to-5 heat stress scale that treats adults, juniors and wheelchair players differently.

Which sport got its own invitational 'Slam' on Court 3 during the 2025 tournament?

The AO Pickleball Slam offered A$100,000 in prize money.

Which network became the tournament's Australian host broadcaster from 2019 after Seven's 45-year run?

The rights are prized because the event falls just before the ratings season begins.

Australian Mark Edmondson won the 1976 title ranked where in the world?

He is still the lowest-ranked Grand Slam winner of the rankings era and the last Australian man to win in Melbourne.

Which Australian won the 2002 Wimbledon men's title but never his home Grand Slam?

He lost the 2005 Melbourne final to Marat Safin after winning the US Open in 2001 and Wimbledon in 2002; no Australian man won a singles major for over two decades afterwards.

Which Australian won the 2022 women's title on home soil and retired weeks later at 25?

It completed her set of majors on all three surfaces after the French Open and Wimbledon.

Whom did Mark Edmondson beat in the wind-lashed 1976 final, briefly halted for half an hour?

The temperature reportedly dropped 20 degrees in five minutes when the storm hit.

Ken Rosewall became the oldest Open Era men's major champion when he won the 1972 title aged what?

He had won the same title as a teenager in 1953, nineteen years earlier.

How long did the 2012 men's final between Djokovic and Nadal last?

It remains the longest major final by duration, and both men needed chairs during the trophy speeches.

Which Italian won his first major in 2024, beating Djokovic and then Medvedev from two sets down?

He defended the title in 2025 and became the first Italian world number one.

Whom did Rafael Nadal beat from two sets down in the 2022 final to win a then-record 21st major?

It was only his second Melbourne title, 13 years after his first.

Roger Federer became the first man to reach 20 major titles at which Australian Open?

He beat Marin Čilić in five sets and soon after became the oldest world number one at 36.

Serena Williams won her 23rd major singles title at the 2017 Australian Open while what?

She beat her sister Venus in the final without dropping a set all fortnight.

Which Belgian, nicknamed 'Aussie Kim', won the 2011 women's title?

The nickname came from her engagement to Lleyton Hewitt; she said the win meant fans could 'finally call me Aussie Kim'.

Which Chinese player won the 2014 women's title after losing two earlier finals there?

She retired later that year as the reigning champion and became the first Asian inductee to the Hall of Fame.

Which Swede won the 2002 title having never previously passed a Grand Slam quarter-final?

He remains the last Swedish man to win a singles major.

Which Russian beat the home favourite in the 2005 final for his second and last major?

He had knocked out Roger Federer in a semi-final that ended past midnight.

Which Czech won the 1998 men's title but tested positive for nandrolone at Wimbledon later that year?

He celebrated with a scissor-kick; his daughter Nelly is now a champion golfer and his son Sebastian a tennis pro.

Which American won the 2001 and 2002 women's titles as part of a career comeback?

A teen prodigy in 1990, she had dropped off the tour before winning three majors in two years.

Which German won the 2016 women's title, her first major, beating Serena Williams in the final?

She added the US Open the same year and finished 2016 as world number one.

Which Belarusian became her country's first Grand Slam singles champion by winning the 2012 final?

She beat Maria Sharapova in straight sets and rose to world number one the same day.

Which Australian wheelchair player won a 2021 quad singles Golden Slam and was 2022 Australian of the Year?

He also hosted radio on Triple J and commentated on the 2019 tournament.