Jump to content

Australian Open

Coordinates: 37°49′18″S 144°58′42″E / 37.82167°S 144.97833°E / -37.82167; 144.97833
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by 203.38.105.161 (talk) at 00:01, 8 January 2018 (→‎See also). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Australian Open
Official website
Founded1905; 119 years ago (1905)
Editions105 (2017)
LocationMelbourne (since 1972)
Australia
VenueMelbourne Park (since 1988)
SurfaceGrass – outdoors (1905–87)
Hard – outdoors[a][b] (since 1988)
Prize moneyA$55,000,000 (2018)
Men's
Draw128S / 128Q / 64D
Current championsSwitzerland Roger Federer (singles)
Finland Henri Kontinen
Australia John Peers (doubles)
Most singles titles6
Australia Roy Emerson
Serbia Novak Djokovic
Most doubles titles10
Australia Adrian Quist
Women's
Draw128S / 96Q / 64D
Current championsUnited States Serena Williams (singles)
United States Bethanie Mattek-Sands
Czech Republic Lucie Šafářová (doubles)
Most singles titles11
Australia Margaret Court
Most doubles titles12
Australia Thelma Coyne Long
Mixed doubles
Draw48
Current championsUnited States Abigail Spears
Colombia Juan Sebastián Cabal
Most titles (male)4
Australia Harry Hopman
Australia Colin Long
Most titles (female)4
Australia Daphne Akhurst Cozens
Australia Nell Hall Hopman
Australia Nancye Wynne Bolton
Australia Thelma Coyne Long
Grand Slam
Last completed
2017 Australian Open

The Australian Open is a tennis tournament held annually over the last fortnight of January in Melbourne, Australia. First held in 1905, the tournament is chronologically the first of the four Grand Slam tennis events of the year – the other three being the French Open, Wimbledon and the US Open. It features men's and women's singles; men's, women's and mixed doubles and junior's championships; as well as wheelchair, legends and exhibition events. Prior to 1988 the tournament had been played on grass courts, but since then two types of hardcourt surfaces have been used at Melbourne Park – green coloured Rebound Ace up to 2007 and, afterwards, blue Plexicushion.[1]

The Australian Open typically has high attendances, rivalling and occasionally exceeding the US Open. The tournament holds the record for the highest attendance at a Grand Slam event.[c] It was the first Grand Slam tournament to feature indoor play during wet weather or extreme heat with its three primary courts, the Rod Laver Arena, Hisense Arena and the refurbished Margaret Court Arena equipped with retractable roofs.

History

Inside Rod Laver Arena prior to an evening session in 2007

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 Melbourne in November 1905. This facility is now known as the Albert Reserve Tennis Centre.[2]

The tournament was first known as the Australasian Championships and then became the Australian Championships in 1927 and the Australian Open in 1969.[3] Since 1905, the Australian Open has been staged in five Australian and two New Zealand cities: Melbourne (55 times), Sydney (17 times), Adelaide (14 times), Brisbane (7 times), Perth (3 times), Christchurch (1906) and Hastings (1912).[3] Though started in 1905, the tournament was not designated as being a major championship until 1924, by the International Lawn Tennis Federation (ILTF) at a 1923 meeting. The tournament committee changed the structure of the tournament to include seeding at that time.[4] In 1972, it was decided to stage the tournament in Melbourne each year because it attracted the biggest patronage of any Australian city.[2] The tournament was played at the Kooyong Lawn Tennis Club from 1972 until the move to the new Melbourne Park complex in 1988.

The new facilities at Melbourne Park (formerly Flinders Park) were envisaged to meet the demands of a 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).[5]

Because of Australia's geographic remoteness, very few foreign players entered this tournament in the early 20th century. In the 1920s, the trip by ship from Europe to Australia took about 45 days. The first tennis players who came by boats were the US Davis Cup players in November 1946.[5] Even inside the country, many players could not travel easily. When the tournament was held in Perth, no one from Victoria or New South Wales crossed by train, a distance of about 3,000 kilometres (1,900 mi) 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.[6]

Margaret Court Arena at the Australian Open with the old Rebound Ace surface. Rod Laver Arena, the centre court, in the background

The first tournaments of the Australasian Championships suffered from the competition of the other Australasian tournaments. Before 1905, all Australian states and New Zealand had their own championships, the first organised in 1880 in Melbourne and called the Championship of the Colony of Victoria (later the Championship of Victoria).[7] In those years, the best two players – Australian Norman Brookes (whose name is now written on the men's singles cup) and 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) 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 Doherty brothers, William Larned, Maurice McLoughlin, Beals Wright, Bill Johnston, Bill Tilden, René Lacoste, Henri Cochet, Bobby Riggs, Jack Kramer, Ted Schroeder, Pancho Gonzales, Budge Patty, and others, while Brookes, Ellsworth Vines, Jaroslav Drobný, came just once. Even in the 1960s and 1970s, when travel was less difficult, leading players such as Manuel Santana, Jan Kodeš, Manuel Orantes, Ilie Năstase (who only came once, when 35 years old) and Björn Borg came rarely or not at all.

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.[8] 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, George MacCall's National Tennis League, which employed Rod Laver, Ken Rosewall, Andrés Gimeno, Pancho Gonzales, Roy Emerson and Fred Stolle, prevented its players from entering the tournament because the guarantees were insufficient. The tournament was won by Arthur Ashe.[9]

In 1983, Ivan Lendl, John McEnroe and Mats Wilander entered the tournament. Wilander won the singles title[10] and both his Davis Cup singles rubbers in the Swedish loss to Australia at Kooyong shortly after.[11] 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. In 1988 the tournament was first held at Flinders Park (later renamed Melbourne Park).[12] The change of the venue also led to a change of the court surface from grass to a hard court surface known as Rebound Ace.[13] Mats Wilander was the only player to win the tournament on both grass and hard courts. In 2008, after being used for 20 years, the Rebound Ace was replaced by a cushioned, medium-paced,[14] acrylic surface known as Plexicushion Prestige. Roger Federer and Serena Williams are the only players to win the Australian Open on both Rebound Ace and Plexicushion Prestige. The main benefits of the new surface are better consistency and less retention of heat because of a thinner top layer.[13] This change was accompanied by changes in the surfaces of all lead-up tournaments to the Australian Open. The change was controversial because of the new surface's similarity to DecoTurf, the surface used by the US Open.[15]

Rafael Nadal vs Philipp Kohlschreiber at the 2010 Australian Open

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, 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), which meant 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.[16] Such a change, however, would move the tournament outside the summer school holiday period, potentially impacting attendance figures.

Another change of venue was proposed in 2008, with New South Wales authorities making clear their desire to bid for hosting rights to the tournament once Melbourne's contract expires in 2016.[17] In response, Wayne Kayler-Thomson, the head of the Victorian Events Industry Council, was adamant that Melbourne should retain the event. In a scathing attack of the New South Wales authorities, he said, "It is disappointing that NSW cannot be original and seek their own events instead of trying to cannibalise other Australian cities."[18] Since the proposal was made, a major redevelopment of Melbourne Park has been announced, which is expected to run into the hundreds of millions of dollars. Melbourne Park will include upgraded and increased seating in major venues, a roof over Margaret Court Arena, improved player facilities, a new headquarters for Tennis Australia and a partly covered "town square" area featuring large televisions showing current tennis play.[19] A year later, these plans were largely approved, with former Premier of Victoria John Brumby confirming the state government's willingness to commit A$363 million to complete the renovations, a move which guaranteed there will be no change of venue until at least beyond 2036.[20]

Television coverage

The Australian Open is broadcast globally on television and online through some of the most established broadcasters in world sports. In Australia, the Australian Open has been broadcast by the Seven Network since 1973. Between 2003 and 2009, it was co-broadcast by Fox Sports. The Australian Open men's singles final is traditionally one of the most watched sports events in Australia. In the rest of Asia-Pacific, Fox Sports broadcasts it across South-East Asia, Wowow and NHK in Japan, CCTV, Shanghai TV and iQiyi in China, Sony Pictures Networks in India and the Sub-Continent, Sky in New Zealand and Fiji TV across Oceania-Pacific.

In Europe the tournament is broadcast on Eurosport. Other broadcasters in the region have included the BBC in the United Kingdom, SRG in Switzerland, NOS in Netherlands and RTS in Serbia. In the United Kingdom, the BBC dropped its live coverage of the 2016 tournament just a month before the start due to budget cuts, leaving Eurosport as the exclusive live broadcaster.[21]

Elsewhere, beIN Sports broadcasts it into the Middle East and Northern Africa, and SuperSport in Sub-Sahara Africa. In the United States, the tournament is broadcast on ESPN2, ESPN3 and the Tennis Channel.[22] The championship matches are televised live on ESPN. While it is broadcast on ESPN International in Central and Latin America. It is broadcast on TSN in Canada.

Panorama of Margaret Court Arena during the 2008 Australian Open

Attendance

The following record of attendance provides a consistent year-to-year comparison given that since 1987 all tournaments have been played in the January period of the year (the immediate preceding tournament was Dec 1985). 1987 was the last year that the Kooyong Tennis Club was host to the grand slam and since 1988 Melbourne Park has hosted all tournaments. The average growth rate over the period covered below is 7% compared to 3% for the same period for the US Open attendance.

Prize money and trophies

The prize money awarded in the men's and women's singles tournaments is distributed equally. The total prize money for the 2018 tournament is AUD $55,000,000. In 2018 the prize money is to be distributed as follows:[52]

Event W F SF QF Round of 16 Round of 32 Round of 64 Round of 1281 Q3 Q2 Q1
Singles A$4,000,000 A$2,000,000 A$880,000 A$440,000 A$240,000 A$142,500 A$90,000 A$60,000 A$30,000 A$15,000 A$7,500
Doubles A$700,000 A$350,000 A$175,000 A$90,000 A$49,000 A$29,500 A$18,500
Mixed Doubles A$150,500 A$75,500 A$37,500 A$18,750 A$9,000 A$4,500

* per team

Note: All amounts in Australian dollars. (The winner's prize money approximates to GBP £2,271,000; EUR €2,612,000; USD $2,797,000.)

On 4 October 2011, when they launched Australian Open 2012, the tournament director announced that the prize money was increased to A$26,000,000. It is the highest prize money for a tennis tournament. It was announced the prize money will be increased to AUD $40 million from 2015 onwards.

The names of the tournament 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.

Ranking points

Ranking points for the men (ATP) and women (WTA) have varied at the Australian Open through the years but presently players receive the following points:

Event W F SF QF 4R 3R 2R 1R Q Q3 Q2 Q1
Singles Men 2000 1200 720 360 180 90 45 10 25 16 8 0
Women 2000 1300 780 430 240 130 70 10 40 30 20 2
Doubles Men 2000 1200 720 360 180 90 0
Women 2000 1300 780 430 240 130 10

Champions

Past champions

Australian Open champions listed by event:

Current champions

Event Champion Runner-up Score
2017 Men's Singles Switzerland Roger Federer Spain Rafael Nadal 6–4, 3–6, 6–1, 3–6, 6–3
2017 Women's Singles United States Serena Williams United States Venus Williams 6–4, 6–4
2017 Men's Doubles Finland Henri Kontinen
Australia John Peers
United States Bob Bryan
United States Mike Bryan
7–5, 7–5
2017 Women's Doubles United States Bethanie Mattek-Sands
Czech Republic Lucie Šafářová
Czech Republic Andrea Hlaváčková
China Peng Shuai
6–7(4–7), 6–3, 6–3
2017 Mixed Doubles United States Abigail Spears
Colombia Juan Sebastián Cabal
India Sania Mirza
Croatia Ivan Dodig
6–2, 6–4

Courts

The Australian Open is played at Melbourne Park, which is located in the Melbourne Sports and Entertainment Precinct; the event moved to this site in 1988. Currently 3 of the courts used have retractable roofs, allowing play to continue during rain and extreme heat. As of 2017 spectators can also observe play at show courts 2 and 3, which have capacities of 3,000 each,[53] as well as at Courts 7–15, 19 and 20 from small accessible viewing positions.[54]

Construction of a new 5,000 seat capacity stadium will start in 2019 as part of a $271 million redevelopment of the precinct.[55]

Since 2008, all of the courts used during the Australian Open are hard courts with Plexicushion acrylic surfaces (though Melbourne Park does have 8 clay courts not used for the tournament). This replaced the Rebound Ace surface used from the opening of Melbourne Park. The ITF rates the surfaces speed as medium.[56]

Court Image Opened Capacity Arena Roof Ref.
Rod Laver Arena 1988 14, 820 Retractable [57]
Hisense Arena
(Melbourne Park Multi-Purpose Venue)
2000 10, 500 Retractable [58]
Margaret Court Arena
(Formerly Show Court 1)
1988 7, 500 Retractable [59]

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.[60]

Record Open Era* Player(s) Count Years
Men since 1905
Winner of most
Men's Singles titles
Before 1969: Australia Roy Emerson 6 1961, 1963, 1964, 1965, 1966, 1967
After 1968: Serbia Novak Djokovic 6 2008, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2015, 2016
Winner of most
consecutive
Men's Singles titles
Before 1969: Australia Roy Emerson 5 1963, 1964, 1965, 1966, 1967
After 1968: Serbia Novak Djokovic 3 2011, 2012, 2013
Winner of most
Men's Doubles titles
Before 1969: Australia Adrian Quist 10 1936, 1937, 1938, 1939, 1940, 1946, 1947, 1948, 1949, 1950
After 1968: United States Bob Bryan
United States Mike Bryan
6 2006, 2007, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2013
Winner of most
consecutive
Men's Doubles titles
Before 1969: Australia Adrian Quist 10 1936, 1937, 1938, 1939, 1940, 1946, 1947, 1948, 1949, 1950[61]
After 1968: United States Bob Bryan
United States Mike Bryan
3 2009, 2010, 2011
Winner of most
Mixed Doubles titles -
Men
Before 1969: Australia Harry Hopman
Australia Colin Long
4 1930, 1936, 1937, 1939
1940, 1946, 1947, 1948
After 1968: United States Jim Pugh
India Leander Paes
Canada Daniel Nestor
3 1988, 1989, 1990
2003, 2010, 2015
2007, 2011, 2014
Winner of most
Championships (total:
singles, men's doubles,
mixed doubles) – Men
Before 1969: Australia Adrian Quist 13 1936–1950 (3 singles, 10 men's doubles, 0 mixed doubles)
After 1968: United States Bob Bryan
United States Mike Bryan
Serbia Novak Djokovic
6 2006–2013 (6 men's doubles)
2006–2013 (6 men's doubles)
2008–2016 (6 men's singles)
Women since 1922
Winner of most
Women's Singles titles
In Total: Australia Margaret Court 11 1960, 1961, 1962, 1963, 1964, 1965, 1966, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1973
Before 1969: Australia Margaret Court 7 1960, 1961, 1962, 1963, 1964, 1965, 1966
After 1968: United States Serena Williams 7 2003, 2005, 2007, 2009, 2010, 2015, 2017
Winner of most
consecutive
Women's Singles titles
Before 1969: Australia Margaret Court 7 1960, 1961, 1962, 1963, 1964, 1965, 1966
After 1968: Australia Margaret Court
Australia Evonne Goolagong Cawley
Germany Steffi Graf
Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia/Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Monica Seles
Switzerland 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
Before 1969: Australia Thelma Coyne Long 12 1936, 1937, 1938, 1939, 1940, 1947, 1948, 1949, 1951, 1952, 1956, 1958
After 1968: United States Martina Navratilova 8 1980, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1987, 1988, 1989
Winner of most consecutive
Women's Doubles titles
Before 1969: Australia Thelma Coyne Long
Australia Nancye Wynne Bolton
5 1936, 1937, 1938, 1939, 1940
After 1968: United States Martina Navratilova
United States Pam Shriver
7 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1987, 1988, 1989
Winner of most
Mixed Doubles titles -
Women
Before 1969: Australia Daphne Akhurst Cozens
Australia Nell Hall Hopman
Australia Nancye Wynne Bolton
Australia Thelma Coyne Long
4 1924, 1925, 1928, 1929
1930, 1936, 1937, 1939
1940, 1946, 1947, 1948
1951, 1952, 1954, 1955
After 1968: Czechoslovakia Jana Novotná
Latvia Larisa Savchenko Neiland
Switzerland Martina Hingis
2 1988, 1989
1994, 1996
2006, 2015
Winner of most
Championships (total:
singles, women's doubles,
mixed doubles) – Women
Before 1969: Australia Nancye Wynne Bolton 20 1936–1952 (6 singles, 10 women's doubles, 4 mixed doubles)
After 1968: United States Martina Navratilova 12 1980–2003 (3 singles, 8 women's doubles, 1 mixed doubles)
Miscellaneous
Youngest winner Men's singles: Australia Ken Rosewall 18 years and 2 months (1953)
Men's doubles: Australia Lew Hoad 18 years and 2 months (1953)
Women's singles: Switzerland Martina Hingis 16 years and 4 months (1997)
Women's doubles: Croatia Mirjana Lučić 15 years and 10 months (1998)
Oldest winner Men's singles: Australia Ken Rosewall 37 years and 8 months (1972)
Men's doubles: Australia Norman Brookes 46 years and 2 months (1924)
Women's singles: Australia Thelma Coyne Long 35 years and 8 months (1954)
Women's doubles: Australia Thelma Coyne Long 37 years and 7 months (1956)
Mixed doubles (men): Australia Horace Rice 52 years (1923)
Mixed doubles (women): United States Martina Navratilova 46 years and 3 months (2003)

See also

Notes

  1. ^ Rebound Ace was used from 1988–2007 and since 2008 Plexicushion is used.
  2. ^ Except for Rod Laver Arena, Margaret Court Arena and Hisense Arena during rain delay.
  3. ^ The 2017 Australian Open was attended by 728,763 people. The next highest attended Grand Slam was the 2009 US Open, which was attended by 721,059 people.
  4. ^ Last Australian Men's Singles champion: Mark Edmondson (1976).
  5. ^ Last Australian Women's Singles champion: Chris O'Neil (1978).

References

  1. ^ Paxinos, Stathi (20 November 2007). "Australian Open court surface is speeding up". The Age. Melbourne.
  2. ^ a b "Australian Tennis Open History". Jazzsports. Archived from the original on 30 January 2008. Retrieved 22 January 2008. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  3. ^ a b Tristan Foenander. "History of the Australian Open – the Grand Slam of Asia/Pacific". Australian Open. Archived from the original on 20 January 2008. Retrieved 22 January 2008. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  4. ^ Unknown (9 November 1923). "Australasian Championships". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 19 July 2010.
  5. ^ a b Frank Cook (14 February 2008). "Open began as Aussie closed shop". The Daily Telegraph. news.com.au. Archived from the original on 1 February 2008. Retrieved 22 January 2008. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  6. ^ "Anthony Frederick Wilding "Tony"". International Tennis Hall of Fame. Archived from the original on 30 September 2007. Retrieved 1 February 2008.
  7. ^ "History of Tennis – From humble beginnings". Tennis Australia. Archived from the original on 31 January 2008. Retrieved 25 January 2008. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  8. ^ "Milton Tennis Centre". Australian Stadiums. Archived from the original on 17 January 2008. Retrieved 25 January 2008. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  9. ^ Nikki Tugwell (14 January 2008). "Hewitt chases amazing slam win". The Daily Telegraph. news.com.au. Archived from the original on 1 February 2008. Retrieved 25 January 2008. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  10. ^ Alan Trengove. "Australian Open 1983". wilandertribute.com. Retrieved 19 February 2008.
  11. ^ "World Group 1983 Final". Davis Cup. Archived from the original on 30 June 2013. Retrieved 19 February 2008. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |dead-url= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  12. ^ "Rebound Ace under review". The Daily Telegraph. news.com.au. 29 January 2007. Retrieved 19 February 2008.
  13. ^ a b Christopher Clarey (13 January 2008). "On the surface, Australian Open gets a new bounce". The New York Times.
  14. ^ "List of Classified Court Surfaces". itftennis.com.
  15. ^ "Tennis court surfacer serves up two major deals". Boston Business Journal. 28 January 2008.
  16. ^ Schlink, Leo (17 January 2009). "Rafael Nadal keen to call time on early slam". Herald Sun. Australia. Retrieved 18 September 2009.
  17. ^ "Sydney plans Australian Open bid". news.bbc.co.uk. BBC. 11 October 2008.
  18. ^ Cameron Houston; Jason Dowling (11 October 2008). "NSW in negotiations to transfer Open from Melbourne". www.smh.com.au. Sydney Morning Herald.
  19. ^ "Brumby Government announces Melbourne Park redevelopment". Herald Sun. Australia. 26 January 2009. Archived from the original on 2 February 2009. Retrieved 22 April 2009. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  20. ^ Pallisco, Marc. "$363 Million Upgrade for Melbourne Park Ensures Australian Open Until 2036". Real Estate Source. Retrieved 15 January 2017.
  21. ^ Gill, Kieran (11 December 2015). "BBC to axe live coverage of Australian Open as part of £35m cut to sports budget... with Eurosport claiming exclusive rights". Daily Mail. Retrieved 9 January 2016.
  22. ^ "2013 Australian Open TV Schedule on ESPN". sportsmediawatch.com.
  23. ^ "Australian Open Glance". 30 January 2017.
  24. ^ "Australian Open 2016 – By the numbers". Australian Open. 1 February 2016.
  25. ^ "Australian Open 2015 – The final word from Tennis Australia". 1 February 2015. Retrieved 2 February 2015.
  26. ^ "AO 2014 – The Final Word". 27 January 2014. Retrieved 7 February 2014.
  27. ^ "Australian Open 2013 – The Final Word". 28 January 2013. Retrieved 7 February 2014.
  28. ^ "Top 10: Memorable AO2012 moments". 29 January 2012. Archived from the original on 1 February 2012. Retrieved 4 March 2012.
  29. ^ "Closing notes: Australian Open 2011". 30 January 2011. Retrieved 27 January 2012.[dead link]
  30. ^ "Federer wins fourth Australian Open, 16th major singles title". 31 January 2010. Archived from the original on 5 February 2010. Retrieved 7 March 2010. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  31. ^ "Australian Open 2009 – the final word". australianopen.com. Archived from the original on 4 February 2009. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  32. ^ "The Australian Open – History of Attendance" (PDF). Australian Open. Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 September 2007. Retrieved 30 January 2008.
  33. ^ "AO 2007: The Final Word". Tennis Australia. Archived from the original on 18 January 2008. Retrieved 25 January 2008. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  34. ^ a b Australian Open Tennis Attendance History – Altius Directory
  35. ^ "Safin credits Lundgren for resurgence". Sports Illustrated. CNN. 30 January 2005. Archived from the original on 18 January 2008. Retrieved 25 January 2008. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  36. ^ "Tennis Australia Annual Report, 2002–2003" (PDF). Clearinghouse for Sport. Tennis Australia. Retrieved 20 January 2017.
  37. ^ "Tennis Australia Annual Report, 2001–2002" (PDF). Clearinghouse for Sport. Tennis Australia. Retrieved 20 January 2017.
  38. ^ "Tennis Australia Annual Report, 2000–2001" (PDF). Clearinghouse for Sports. Tennis Australia. Retrieved 20 January 2017.
  39. ^ "Tennis Australia Annual Report, 1999–2000" (PDF). Clearinghouse for Sport. Tennis Australia. Retrieved 20 January 2017.
  40. ^ a b "Tennis Australia Annual Report, 1998–1999" (PDF). Clearinghouse for Sports. Tennis Australia. Retrieved 20 January 2017.
  41. ^ "Tennis Australia Annual Report, 1997" (PDF). Clearinghouse for Sports. Tennis Australia. Retrieved 20 January 2017.
  42. ^ "Tennis Australia 1996 Annual Report" (PDF). Clearinghouse for Sports. Tennis Australia. Retrieved 20 January 2017.
  43. ^ "Tennis Australia 1995 Annual Report" (PDF). Clearinghouse for Sports. Tennis Australia. Retrieved 20 January 2017.
  44. ^ "Tennis Australia 1994 Annual Report" (PDF). Clearinghouse for Sports. Tennis Australia. Retrieved 20 January 2017.
  45. ^ "Tennis Australia 1993 Annual Report" (PDF). Clearinghouse for Sports. Tennis Australia. Retrieved 20 January 2017.
  46. ^ "Tennis Australia 1992 Annual Report" (PDF). Clearinghouse for Sports. Tennis Australia. Retrieved 20 January 2017.
  47. ^ "Tennis Australia 1991 Annual Report" (PDF). Clearinghouse for Sports. Tennis Australia. Retrieved 20 January 2017.
  48. ^ "Tennis Australia Annual Report 1990" (PDF). Clearinghouse for Sports. Tennis Australia. Retrieved 20 January 2017.
  49. ^ "Lawn Tennis Association of Australia Annual Report 1989" (PDF). Clearinghouse for Sports. Lawn Tennis Association. Retrieved 20 January 2017.
  50. ^ "Lawn Tennis Association of Australia Annual Report 1988" (PDF). Clearinghouse for Sports. Lawn Tennis Association of Australia. Retrieved 20 January 2017.
  51. ^ "Lawn Tennis Association of Australia Annual Report 1987" (PDF). Clearinghouse for Sports. Lawn Tennis Association of Australia. Retrieved 20 January 2017.
  52. ^ "Prize Money". AustralianOpen.com. Archived from the original on 19 January 2015. Retrieved 20 January 2015. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  53. ^ "Event Guide – Australian Open Tennis Championships 2014 – Official Site by IBM". Retrieved 25 December 2014.
  54. ^ "Accessibility Map" (PDF). Tennis.com. Retrieved 16 January 2017.
  55. ^ "Melbourne gets new 5000-seat tennis arena". SBS News. 23 April 2017.
  56. ^ "About Court Pace Classification". ITF. Retrieved 16 January 2017.
  57. ^ "Rod Laver Arena". Australian Stadiums. Retrieved 16 January 2017.
  58. ^ "Hisense Arena". Australian Stadiums. Retrieved 16 January 2017.
  59. ^ "Margaret Court Arena". Australian Stadiums. Retrieved 16 January 2017.
  60. ^ "Australian History and Records". TennisTours.com. Archived from the original on 21 December 2008. Retrieved 17 January 2009. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  61. ^ From 1941 through 1945, no Australian Championships were held because of World War II
Preceded by Grand Slam Tournament
January
Succeeded by

37°49′18″S 144°58′42″E / 37.82167°S 144.97833°E / -37.82167; 144.97833