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Australian Open
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The Australian Open is the first of the four Grand Slam tennis tournaments held each year. The tournament is held each January at Melbourne Park. The tournament was held for the first time in 1905 and was contested on grass from 1905 through 1987. Since 1988, the tournament has been held on hard courts at Melbourne Park. Mats Wilander is the only male player to have won the tournament on both grass and hard courts.
Like all other Grand Slam tournaments, there are men's and women's singles competitions; men's, women's, and mixed doubles; and junior's and master's competitions.
The two main courts used in the tournament are Rod Laver Arena and Hisense Arena and feature retractable roofs, which can be shut in case of rain or extreme heat.
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Encyclopedia
The Australian Open is the first of the four Grand Slam tennis tournaments held each year. The tournament is held each January at Melbourne Park. The tournament was held for the first time in 1905 and was contested on grass from 1905 through 1987. Since 1988, the tournament has been held on hard courts at Melbourne Park. Mats Wilander is the only male player to have won the tournament on both grass and hard courts.
Like all other Grand Slam tournaments, there are men's and women's singles competitions; men's, women's, and mixed doubles; and junior's and master's competitions.
The two main courts used in the tournament are Rod Laver Arena and Hisense Arena and feature retractable roofs, which can be shut in case of rain or extreme heat. It is the only Grand Slam tournament that currently features indoor play, although Wimbledon's Centre Court will have a retractable roof beginning in 2009.
Held in the middle of the Australian summer, the Australian Open is famous for its notoriously hot days. An extreme-heat policy is put into play when temperatures (and humidity) reach dangerous levels.
The Australian Open typically has very high attendance, with the 2009 Australian Open achieving the highest ever single-day day/night attendance record for any Grand Slam tournament of 66,018. The event is worth around £38 million to the Australian economy.
In 2008, the Rebound Ace surface, which had been in place for the past 20 years at Melbourne Park, was replaced by a cushioned, medium-paced, acrylic surface known as Plexicushion Prestige. The main benefits of the new surface are better consistency and less retention of heat (because of a thinner top layer). This change was accompanied by changes in the surfaces of all lead-up tournaments to the Australian Open. The change was controversial, primarily because of the new surface's similarity to DecoTurf, the surface already being used by the US Open.
The singles winners in 2009 were Rafael Nadal and Serena Williams.
History
The Australian Open is managed by Tennis Australia, formerly the Lawn Tennis Association of Australia (LTAA), and was first played at the Warehouseman's Cricket Ground in St Kilda Road, Melbourne in 1905. This facility is now known as Albert Reserve Tennis Centre.
The tournament was first known as The Australasian Championships and then became the Australian Championships in 1927 and the Australian Open in 1969. Since 1905, the Australian Open has been staged in five Australian and two New Zealand cities as follows: Melbourne (50 times), Sydney (17 times), Adelaide (14 times), Brisbane (8 times), Perth (3 times), Christchurch (in 1906), and Hastings (in 1912). In 1972, when it was decided to stage the tournament in the same city each year, the Kooyong Lawn Tennis Club was selected because Melbourne attracted the biggest patronage.
Melbourne Park (formerly Flinders Park) was constructed in time for the 1988 tournament to meet the demands of the evolving tournament that had outgrown Kooyong's capacity. The move to Melbourne Park was an immediate success, with a 90 percent increase in attendance in 1988 (266,436) on the previous year at Kooyong (140,000).
Because of its geographic remoteness very few foreign players entered this tournament at the beginning. In the 1920s, the trip by ship from Europe to Australia took about 45 days. The first tennis players who came by aircraft were the U.S. Davis Cup players in November 1946. Even inside the country, many players could not travel easily. When the tournament was held in Perth, no persons from Victoria or New South Wales crossed by train, a distance of approximately 3,000 kilometres between the east and west coasts. In Christchurch in 1906, of a small field of 10 players, only two Australians attended, and the tournament was won by a New Zealander.
The first tournaments of the Australasian Championships suffered from the competition of the other Australasian tournaments, and before 1905 all Australian states and New Zealand had their own championships, the first being organised in 1880 in Melbourne and called the Championship of the Colony of Victoria (later become the Championship of Victoria).. In those years the best two players by far - the Australian Norman Brookes (whose name is now written on the men's singles cup) and the New Zealander Anthony Wilding - almost did not play this tournament. Brookes came once and won in 1911 and Wilding entered and won the competition twice (1906 and 1909). Their meetings in the Victorian Championships (or at Wimbledon) were the summits that helped to determine the best Australasian players. Even when the Australasian Championships were held in Hastings, New Zealand, in 1912, Wilding, though three times Wimbledon champion, did not come back to his home country. It was a recurring problem for all players of the era. Brookes went to Europe only three times, where he reached the Wimbledon Challenge Round once and then won Wimbledon twice. Thus, many players had never played the Austral(as)ian amateur or open championships: the Renshaws, the Dohertys, William Larned, Maurice McLoughlin, Beals Wright, Bill Johnston, Bill Tilden, René Lacoste, Henri Cochet, Bobby Riggs, Jack Kramer, Ted Schroeder, Pancho Gonzales, Budge Patty, Manuel Santana, Jan Kodes and others, while Brookes, Ellsworth Vines, Jaroslav Drobny, Manuel Orantes, Ilie Nastase at 35 years old, and Bjorn Borg came just once.
Beginning in 1969, when the first Australian Open was held on the Milton Courts at Brisbane, the tournament was open to all players, including professionals who were not allowed to play the traditional circuit. Nevertheless, except for the 1969 and 1971 tournaments, many of the best players missed this championship until 1982, because of the remoteness, the inconvenient dates (around Christmas and New Year's Day), and the low prize money — in 1970 the National Tennis League (NTL), which employed Rod Laver, Ken Rosewall, Andres Gimeno, Pancho Gonzales, Roy Emerson and Fred Stolle, prevented its players from entering the tournament because the guarantees were insufficient, and the tournament was ultimately won by Arthur Ashe.
In 1983, Ivan Lendl, John McEnroe, and Mats Wilander entered the tournament. Wilander won the singles title, and subsequently both his Davis Cup singles rubbers in the Swedish loss to Australia at Kooyong shortly after. Following the 1983 Australian Open, the International Tennis Federation prompted the Lawn Tennis Association of Australia to change the site of the tournament, because the Kooyong stadium was then inappropriate to serve such a big event, and in 1988 the tournament was first held at Flinders Park (later renamed Melbourne Park) on Rebound Ace.
Before the Melbourne Park stadium era, tournament dates fluctuated as well, in particular in the early years because of the climate of each site or exceptional events. For example, just after World War I, the 1919 tournament was held in January 1920 (the 1920 tournament was played in March) and the 1923 tournament in Brisbane took place in August when the weather was not too hot and wet. After a first 1977 tournament was held in December 1976 – January 1977, the organisers chose to move the next tournament forward a few days, then a second 1977 tournament was played (ended on 31 December) but this failed to attract the best players. From 1982 to 1985, the tournament was played in mid-December, then it was decided to move the next tournament to mid-January (January 1987), thus there was no tournament in 1986. Since 1987, the Australian Open date has not changed. However, some top players, including Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, have said that the tournament is held too soon after the Christmas and New Year holidays, thus preventing players from reaching their best form, and expressed a desire to shift it to February.
Another change of venue was mooted in 2008, with New South Wales authorities making clear their desire to re-locate the tournament to Glebe Island (Sydney) in 2016, when the Melbourne contract runs out. Wayne Kayler-Thomson, the head of the Victorian Events Industry Council, was adamant that Melbourne should retain the event, and, in a scathing attack of the New South Wales authorities, said that, "It is disappointing that NSW cannot be original and seek their own events instead of trying to cannibalize other Australian cities."
Recent attendances
Trophies and prize money
Names of the winners are inscribed on the perpetual trophy Cups.
- The women's Singles winner is presented with the Daphne Akhurst Memorial Cup.
- The men's Singles winner is presented with the Norman Brookes Challenge Cup.
In 2009, the prize money awarded in the men's and women's singles tournaments was equal and distributed as follows:
- 1st Round: A$19,400
- 2nd Round: A$31,000
- 3rd Round: A$51,000
- 4th Round: A$88,000
- Quarterfinalists: A$182,250
- Semifinalists: A$365,000
- Runners-up: A$1,000,000
- Winners: A$2,000,000 (approx GBP£955,377) (approx EUR€1,003,976) (approx US$1,303,611)
Records
Unlike the other three Grand Slam tournaments, which became open in 1968, the Australian tournament opened to professionals in 1969. Thus, the records here break at the 1969 tournament. Citations for these records.
| Record | Open Era* | Player(s) | Count | Years |
|---|
| Men since 1905 | Winner of most
Men's Singles titles | All-time: | Roy Emerson | 6 | 1961, 1963, 1964, 1965, 1966, 1967 | | Before 1969: | Roy Emerson | 6 | 1961, 1963, 1964, 1965, 1966, 1967 | | After 1968: | Andre Agassi | 4 | 1995, 2000, 2001, 2003 | Winner of most
consecutive
Men's Singles titles | All-time: | Roy Emerson | 5 | 1963, 1964, 1965, 1966, 1967 | | Before 1969: | Roy Emerson | 5 | 1963, 1964, 1965, 1966, 1967 | | After 1968: | Ken Rosewall
Guillermo Vilas
Johan Kriek
Mats Wilander
Stefan Edberg
Ivan Lendl
Jim Courier
Andre Agassi
Roger Federer | 2 | 1971, 1972
1978, 1979
1981, 1982
1983, 1984
1985, 1987
1989, 1990
1992, 1993
2000, 2001
2006, 2007 | Winner of most
Men's Doubles titles | All-time: | Adrian Quist | 10 | 1936, 1937, 1938, 1939, 1940, 1946, 1947, 1948, 1949, 1950 | | Before 1969: | Adrian Quist | 10 | 1936, 1937, 1938, 1939, 1940, 1946, 1947, 1948, 1949, 1950 | | After 1968: | Mark Edmondson | 4 | 1980, 1981, 1983, 1984 | Winner of most
consecutive
Men's Doubles titles | All-time: | Adrian Quist | 10 | 1936, 1937, 1938, 1939, 1940, 1946, 1947, 1948, 1949, 1950 | | Before 1969: | Adrian Quist | 10 | 1936, 1937, 1938, 1939, 1940, 1946, 1947, 1948, 1949, 1950 | | After 1968: | Mark Edmondson
Kim Warwick
Mark Edmondson
Rick Leach
Jim Pugh
Fabrice Santoro
Michael Llodra
Bob Bryan
Mike Bryan | 2 | 1980, 1981
1980, 1981
1983, 1984
1988, 1989
1988, 1989
2003, 2004
2003, 2004
2006, 2007
2006, 2007 | Winner of most
Mixed Doubles titles -
Men | All-time: | Harry Hopman
Colin Long | 4 | 1930, 1936, 1937, 1939
1940, 1946, 1947, 1948 | | Before 1969: | Harry Hopman
Colin Long | 4 | 1930, 1936, 1937, 1939
1940, 1946, 1947, 1948 | | After 1968: | Jim Pugh | 3 | 1988, 1989, 1990 | Winner of most
Championships (total:
singles, men's doubles,
mixed doubles) - Men | All-time: | Adrian Quist | 13 | 1936-1950 (3 singles, 10 men's doubles, 0 mixed doubles) | | Before 1969: | Adrian Quist | 13 | 1936-1950 (3 singles, 10 men's doubles, 0 mixed doubles) | | After 1968: | Mark Edmondson
Jim Pugh
Rick Leach | 5 | 1976-1984 (1 singles, 4 men's doubles)
1988-1990 (2 men's doubles, 3 mixed doubles)
1988-2000 (3 men's doubles, 2 mixed doubles) | | Women since 1922 | Winner of most
Women's Singles titles | All-time: | | 11 | 1960, 1961, 1962, 1963, 1964, 1965, 1966, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1973 | | Before 1969: | | 7 | 1960, 1961, 1962, 1963, 1964, 1965, 1966 | | After 1968: | | Evonne Goolagong Cawley
Steffi Graf
// Monica Seles
Serena Williams 4 | 1969, 1970, 1971, 1973
1974, 1975, 1976, 1977
1988, 1989, 1990, 1994
1991, 1992, 1993, 1996
2003, 2005, 2007, 2009 | Winner of most
consecutive
Women's Singles titles | | All-time: | | 7 | 1960, 1961, 1962, 1963, 1964, 1965, 1966 | | Before 1969: | | 7 | 1960, 1961, 1962, 1963, 1964, 1965, 1966 | | After 1968: | | Evonne Goolagong Cawley
Steffi Graf
// Monica Seles
Martina Hingis 3 | 1969, 1970, 1971
1974, 1975, 1976
1988, 1989, 1990
1991, 1992, 1993
1997, 1998, 1999 | Winner of most
Women's Doubles titles | | All-time: | Thelma Coyne Long | 12 | 1936, 1937, 1938, 1939, 1940, 1947, 1948, 1949, 1951, 1952, 1956, 1958 | | Before 1969: | Thelma Coyne Long | 12 | 1936, 1937, 1938, 1939, 1940, 1947, 1948, 1949, 1951, 1952, 1956, 1958 | | After 1968: | Martina Navrátilová | 8 | 1980, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1987, 1988, 1989 | Winner of most consecutive
Women's Doubles titles | | All-time: | Martina Navrátilová
Pam Shriver | 7 | 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1987, 1988, 1989
1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1987, 1988, 1989 | | Before 1969: | Thelma Coyne Long
Nancye Wynne Bolton | 5 | 1936, 1937, 1938, 1939, 1940
1936, 1937, 1938, 1939, 1940 | | After 1968: | Martina Navrátilová
Pam Shriver | 7 | 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1987, 1988, 1989
1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1987, 1988, 1989 | Winner of most
Mixed Doubles titles -
Women | All-time: | | Nell Hall Hopman
Nancye Wynne Bolton
Thelma Coyne Long 4 | 1924, 1925, 1928, 1929
1930, 1936, 1937, 1939
1940, 1946, 1947, 1948
1951, 1952, 1954, 1955 | | Before 1969: | | Nell Hall Hopman
Nancye Wynne Bolton
Thelma Coyne Long 4 | 1924, 1925, 1928, 1929
1930, 1936, 1937, 1939
1940, 1946, 1947, 1948
1951, 1952, 1954, 1955 | | After 1968: | Jana Novotná
Larisa Savchenko Neiland | 2 | 1988, 1989
1994, 1996 | Winner of most
Championships (total:
singles, women's doubles,
mixed doubles) - Women | All-time: | | 21 | 1960-1973 (11 singles, 8 women's doubles, 2 mixed doubles) | | Before 1969: | Nancye Wynne Bolton | 20 | 1936-1952 (6 singles, 10 women's doubles, 4 mixed doubles) | | After 1968: | Martina Navrátilová | 12 | 1980-2003 (3 singles, 8 women's doubles, 1 mixed doubles) | |
| Miscellaneous | | Youngest winner | Men's singles: | Ken Rosewall | 18 years and 2 months (1953) | | Men's doubles: | Lew Hoad | 18 years and 2 months (1953) | | Women's doubles: | Mirjana Lucic | 15 years and 10 months (1998) | | Women's singles: | Martina Hingis | 16 years and 4 months (1997) | |
| Oldest winner | Men's singles: | Ken Rosewall | 37 years and 8 months (1972) | | Men's doubles: | Norman Brookes | 46 years and 2 months (1924) | | Women's doubles: | Thelma Coyne Long | 37 years and 7 months (1956) | | Women's singles: | Thelma Coyne Long | 35 years and 8 months (1954) | | Mixed doubles (men): | Horace Rice | 52 years (1923) | | Mixed doubles (women): | Martina Navratilova | 46 years and 3 months (2003) |
Champions
Main articles listed by event:
External links
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