Australian Open facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Australian Open

Official website: http://ausopen.com/
Founded	1905; 121 years ago (1905)
Editions	114 (2026)
Location	Melbourne CBD Australia
Venue	Melbourne Park
Surface	Hard – outdoors (since 1988) Grass – outdoors (1905–1987)
Prize money	A$111,500,000 (2026)
Men's
Draw	128S (128Q) / 64D (16Q)
Current champions	Carlos Alcaraz (singles) Christian Harrison Neal Skupski (doubles)
Most singles titles	Novak Djokovic (10)
Most doubles titles	Adrian Quist (10)
Women's
Draw	128S (128Q) / 64D (16Q)
Current champions	Elena Rybakina (singles) Elise Mertens Zhang Shuai (doubles)
Most singles titles	Margaret Court (11)
Most doubles titles	Thelma Coyne Long (12)
Mixed doubles
Draw	32
Current champions	Olivia Gadecki John Peers
Most titles (male)	4 Harry Hopman
Most titles (female)	4 Thelma Coyne Long
Grand Slam
Australian Open French Open Wimbledon US Open
Last completed
2026 Australian Open

The Australian Open is a major tennis tournament. It is held every year in Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It is the first of the four biggest tennis events, known as Grand Slams. These are played before the French Open, Wimbledon, and the US Open.

The Australian Open usually starts in mid-January. It lasts for two weeks. The men's final traditionally happens on the last Sunday of the month. Players compete in men's and women's singles. There are also men's, women's, and mixed doubles. Other events include junior championships, wheelchair tennis, and matches with tennis legends.

The tournament used to be played on grass courts. In 1988, it switched to hard courts. Three types of hard court surfaces have been used. These were green Rebound Ace (1988–2007), blue Plexicushion (2008–2019), and blue GreenSet since 2020.

First held in 1905, it was called the Australasian Championships. The Australian Open has grown a lot since then. It is now one of the biggest sports events in the Southern Hemisphere. People call it "the happy slam." It is the most attended Grand Slam event. Over 1,200,000 people attended the 2025 tournament. This number includes qualifying matches.

It was also the first Grand Slam to have indoor play. This happens during wet weather or extreme heat. Its three main courts have retractable roofs. These are Rod Laver Arena, John Cain Arena, and the updated Margaret Court Arena.

The Australian Open is known for its fast and exciting style of play. The tournament has been held at the Melbourne Park complex since 1988. It helps the economy of Victoria a lot. The 2020 Australian Open added A$387.7 million to the state's economy. Over the past ten years, it has brought in more than A$2.71 billion. It also created 1775 jobs in areas like hotels and cafes.

The History of the Australian Open

The Australian Open is managed by Tennis Australia. This organization was once called the Lawn Tennis Association of Australia. The first tournament was played in November 1905. It took place at the Warehouseman's Cricket Ground in Melbourne. This place is now called the Albert Reserve Tennis Centre. It had a grass court.

The tournament was first known as the Australasian Championships. It changed its name to the Australian Championships in 1927. Then, in 1969, it became the Australian Open. Since 1905, it has been held 110 times. It has been played in five Australian cities. These are Melbourne (66 times), Sydney (17 times), Adelaide (15 times), Brisbane (7 times), and Perth (3 times). It was also held in two New Zealand cities. These were Christchurch (1906) and Hastings (1912).

The International Lawn Tennis Federation (ILTF) recognized it as a major championship in 1924. This happened after a meeting in 1923. The tournament committee then added seeding to the tournament structure. No tournament was held from 1916 to 1918 due to World War I.

During World War II, the tournament was not held from 1941 to 1945. In 1972, organizers decided to hold the tournament in Melbourne every year. Melbourne attracted the most fans of any Australian city. The tournament was played at the Kooyong Lawn Tennis Club from 1972. It then moved to the new Flinders Park complex in 1988.

The new facilities at Flinders Park were built to handle a bigger tournament. The Kooyong club was no longer large enough. Moving to Flinders Park was a big success. Attendance increased by 90 percent in 1988. It went from 140,000 to 266,436 visitors.

In the early 1900s, few foreign players came to the tournament. Australia is very far away from other countries. A trip by ship from Europe took about 45 days. The first tennis players to arrive by plane were from the US Davis Cup team in 1946. Even within Australia, travel was hard. When the tournament was in Perth, players from Victoria or New South Wales often didn't come. This was a distance of about 3,000 km (1,900 mi). In Christchurch in 1906, only two Australians attended. A New Zealander won that tournament.

Rod Laver Arena, the main court of the Australian Open, in 2023.

The first Australasian Championships faced competition from other local tournaments. Before 1905, each Australian state and New Zealand had its own championships. The first was in Melbourne in 1880. It was called the Championship of the Colony of Victoria. Famous players like Australian Norman Brookes and New Zealander Anthony Wilding often skipped this tournament.

Brookes played once and won in 1911. Wilding played twice and won in 1906 and 1909. Their matches in other championships helped decide the best players. Even when the tournament was in Hastings, New Zealand, in 1912, Wilding did not play. He was a three-time Wimbledon champion. This was a common issue for players back then. Many top players never played the Australian championships. This was due to the long and difficult travel.

The Open Era: Welcoming All Players

Margaret Court Arena at the Australian Open in 2005 before its big update. Rod Laver Arena is in the background.

In 1969, the tournament became the first Australian Open. It was held at the Milton Courts in Brisbane. This meant all players, including professionals, could compete. Before this, professionals were not allowed in major tournaments. However, many top players still missed the championship until 1982. This was because of the long travel, inconvenient dates (around Christmas), and low prize money.

In 1983, famous players like Ivan Lendl, John McEnroe, and Mats Wilander joined. Wilander won the singles title that year. After the 1983 tournament, the International Tennis Federation asked for a new venue. The Kooyong stadium was no longer suitable for such a big event. So, in 1988, the tournament moved to Flinders Park. This place was later renamed Melbourne Park. This move also changed the court surface from grass to hard court. The new surface was called Rebound Ace.

Mats Wilander is the only player to win the tournament on both grass and hard courts. In 2008, after 20 years, Rebound Ace was replaced. The new surface was Plexicushion Prestige. Roger Federer and Serena Williams won on both Rebound Ace and Plexicushion. The new surface was more consistent and stayed cooler. This change was also made for other tournaments leading up to the Australian Open.

Before the Melbourne Park era, tournament dates often changed. This was due to local climate or special events. For example, the 1919 tournament was in January 1920. The 1923 tournament in Brisbane was in August for cooler weather. In 1977, there were two tournaments in one year. One ended in January, and another in December. This was an attempt to attract more players.

The new entrance to Rod Laver Arena, added in 2018 as part of the Melbourne Park updates.

From 1982 to 1985, the tournament was in mid-December. Then, it was moved to mid-January (January 1987). This meant no tournament was held in 1986. From 1987 to 2026, the Australian Open date has been consistent. The only exception was in 2021. It was postponed by three weeks to February due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The 2026 tournament was played in late January. Some top players, like Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, have suggested moving it to February. They felt it was too soon after the holidays. However, this might affect how many people attend.

Before 1996, the Australian Open offered fewer ranking points. This was compared to the other three Grand Slams. The reason was that its prize money was much lower.

Melbourne Park: Modernizing the Tournament

The new Show Court Arena that opened in 2022.

In 2008, there were ideas to move the tournament to other cities. But this never happened. Instead, Melbourne Park began big upgrades. These improvements made facilities better for players and fans. The park also added more food and drink options. This was to welcome more local and international visitors.

A big change was adding a retractable roof to Margaret Court Arena. This made the Australian Open the first Grand Slam with three main courts having roofs. Player and staff areas were improved. Access for spectators was also made better. The tournament area expanded into nearby Birrarung Marr. A fourth major show court was finished in late 2021. It can seat 5,000 people. This was part of a decade-long redevelopment. It also included the Centrepiece building for events and media.

In December 2018, organizers announced a new rule. The Australian Open would use tie-breaks in the final sets. This was like Wimbledon and the US Open. The Australian Open uses a "first to 10 points" tie-breaker when the score is 6-6 games. In 2020, the official court surface changed to GreenSet. It kept the famous blue color.

In 2021, all matches used electronic line judging. This was to reduce staff due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It was the first Grand Slam to use only electronic line calls. The 2020 US Open used it for some courts.

The Australian Open also created NFTs in 2022. These are unique digital items.

Starting in 2024, the tournament began on a Sunday. This was one day earlier than usual. Day sessions on Rod Laver Arena and Margaret Court Arena had fewer matches. This helped prevent games from finishing very late at night.

The 2025 Australian Open was the first to feature pickleball. From January 24 to 26, the AO Pickleball Slam was held. It awarded A$100,000 in prize money.

Australian Open Courts

The Melbourne Sports and Entertainment precinct on the banks of the Yarra River in 2010.

The Australian Open is played at Melbourne Park. This area is part of the Melbourne Sports and Entertainment Precinct. The event moved here in 1988. Currently, three of the courts have retractable roofs. This means games can continue during rain or extreme heat. As of 2017, fans can also watch games at Show Courts 2 and 3. These courts can hold 3,000 people each. Courts 4–17, 19, and 20 also have temporary seating. These can hold from 50 to 2,500 people.

Construction for a new 5,000-seat stadium began in 2019. This was part of a A$271 million upgrade. The new stadium, Kia Arena, was shown by officials on November 22, 2021.

From 2008 to 2019, all courts used Plexicushion acrylic surfaces. Melbourne Park also has eight practice clay courts, but these are not used for the tournament. Plexicushion replaced the Rebound Ace surface used since Melbourne Park opened. The ITF rated the surface speed as medium. Since 2020, the courts have used a GreenSet surface.

Main Courts at Melbourne Park

Court		Opened	Capacity	Arena Roof	Ref.
Rod Laver Arena		1988	14,820	Retractable
John Cain Arena		2000	10,300	Retractable
Margaret Court Arena (Formerly Show Court 1)		1988	7,500	Retractable
Show Court Arena (Kia Arena)		2021	5,000	No
Show Court 2 (1573 Arena)		1988	3,000	No
Show Court 3 (ANZ Arena)		1988	3,000	No

Understanding Ranking Points

Players earn ranking points at the Australian Open. These points help determine their ATP (men) and WTA (women) positions. The number of points depends on how far a player goes in the tournament.

Prize Money and Trophies

The prize money for men's and women's singles is the same. The total prize money for the 2026 tournament was A$111.5 million. This money is shared among players based on how well they perform.

Doubles prize money is per team.

The Championship Trophies

The names of the winners are carved onto special trophy cups. Since 2013, ABC Bullion has made these cups. They are created by W. J. Sanders, a sister company. Each cup takes over 250 hours to make.

• The women's singles winner receives the Daphne Akhurst Memorial Cup.
• The men's singles winner receives the Norman Brookes Challenge Cup.

The Daphne Akhurst Memorial Cup.

The Norman Brookes Challenge Cup.

Australian Open Champions

Past Champions

• Men's singles
• Women's singles
• Men's doubles
• Women's doubles
• Mixed doubles
• All champions

Recent Champions (2026)

2026 Finals Results

2026 Event	Champion	Runner-up	Score
Men's singles	Carlos Alcaraz	Novak Djokovic	2–6, 6–2, 6–3, 7–5
Women's singles	Elena Rybakina	Aryna Sabalenka	6–4, 4–6, 6–4
Men's doubles	Christian Harrison Neal Skupski	Jason Kubler Marc Polmans	7–6(7–4), 6–4
Women's doubles	Elise Mertens Zhang Shuai	Anna Danilina Aleksandra Krunić	7–6(7–4), 6–4
Mixed doubles	Olivia Gadecki John Peers	Kristina Mladenovic Manuel Guinard	4–6, 6–3, [10–8]

Tournament Records

Novak Djokovic, who holds the record for most men's singles titles.

Margaret Court, who holds the record for most women's singles titles.

The Australian Open became open to professional players in 1969. This was one year after the other three Grand Slam tournaments.

Record	Era	Player(s)	Count	Years
Men since 1905
Most singles titles	Open Era	Novak Djokovic	10	2008, 2011–2013, 2015–2016, 2019–2021, 2023
	Amateur Era	Roy Emerson	6	1961, 1963–1967
Most consecutive singles titles	Open Era	Novak Djokovic	3	2011–2013, 2019–2021
	Amateur Era	Roy Emerson	5	1963–1967
Most doubles titles	Open Era	Bob Bryan Mike Bryan	6	2006–2007, 2009–2011, 2013
	Amateur Era	Adrian Quist	10	1936–1940, 1946–1950
Most consecutive doubles titles	Open Era	Bob Bryan Mike Bryan	3	2009–2011
	Amateur Era	Adrian Quist	10	1936–1940, 1946–1950
Most mixed doubles titles	Open Era	Jim Pugh Leander Paes Daniel Nestor	3	1988–1990 2003, 2010, 2015 2007, 2011, 2014
	Amateur Era	Harry Hopman Colin Long	4	1930, 1936–1937, 1939 1940, 1946–1948
Most Championships (singles, doubles, mixed doubles)	Open Era	Novak Djokovic	10	2008–2023 (10 men's singles)
	Amateur Era	Adrian Quist	13	1936–1950 (3 singles, 10 men's doubles, 0 mixed doubles)
Women since 1922
Most singles titles	All-time	Margaret Court	11	1960–1966, 1969–1971, 1973
	Open Era	Serena Williams	7	2003, 2005, 2007, 2009, 2010, 2015, 2017
	Amateur Era	Margaret Court	7	1960–1966
Most consecutive singles titles	Open Era	Margaret Court Evonne Goolagong Cawley Steffi Graf / Monica Seles Martina Hingis	3	1969–1971 1974–1976 1988–1990 1991–1993 1997–1999
	Amateur Era	Margaret Court	7	1960–1966
Most doubles titles	Amateur Era	Thelma Coyne Long	12	1936–1940, 1947–1949, 1951–1952, 1956, 1958
	Open Era	Martina Navratilova	8	1980, 1982–1985, 1987–1989
Most consecutive doubles titles	Open Era	Martina Navratilova Pam Shriver	7	1982–1985, 1987–1989
	Amateur Era	Thelma Coyne Long Nancye Wynne Bolton	5	1936–1940
Most mixed doubles titles	Open Era	Barbora Krejčíková	3	2019–2021
	Amateur Era	Daphne Akhurst Cozens Nell Hall Hopman Nancye Wynne Bolton Thelma Coyne Long	4	1924–1925, 1928–1929 1930, 1936–1937, 1939 1940, 1946–1948 1951–1952, 1954–1955
Most Championships (singles, doubles, mixed doubles)	All-time	Margaret Court	23	1960–1973 (11 singles, 8 women's doubles, 4 mixed doubles)
	Open Era	Martina Navratilova	12	1980–2003 (3 singles, 8 women's doubles, 1 mixed doubles)
	Amateur Era	Nancye Wynne Bolton	20	1936–1952 (6 singles, 10 women's doubles, 4 mixed doubles)
Wheelchair: singles since 2002, doubles since 2004, quads since 2008
Most singles titles	Men	Shingo Kunieda	11	2007–2011, 2013–2015, 2018, 2020, 2022
	Women	Esther Vergeer	9	2002–2004, 2006–2009, 2011–2012
	Quads	Dylan Alcott	7	2015–2021
Most consecutive singles titles	Men	Shingo Kunieda	5	2007–2011
	Women	Esther Vergeer Diede de Groot	4	2006–2009 2021–2024
	Quads	Dylan Alcott	7	2015–2021
Most doubles titles	Men	Shingo Kunieda	8	2007–2011, 2013–2015
	Women	Esther Vergeer Aniek van Koot	7	2003–2004, 2006–2009, 2011–2012 2010, 2013, 2017, 2019, 2021–2023
	Quads	David Wagner	9	2008–2010, 2013–2017, 2022
Most consecutive doubles titles	Men	Shingo Kunieda	5	2007–2011
	Women	Esther Vergeer Diede de Groot	4	2006–2009 2021–2024
	Quads	David Wagner	5	2013–2017
Miscellaneous Records
Unseeded champions	Men	Mark Edmondson	1976
	Women	Chris O'Neil Serena Williams	1978 2007
Youngest singles champion	Men	Ken Rosewall	18 years and 2 months (1953)
	Women	Martina Hingis	16 years and 4 months (1997)
Oldest singles champion	Men	Ken Rosewall	37 years and 2 months (1972)
	Women	Thelma Coyne Long	35 years and 8 months (1954)

Watching the Australian Open: Media and Attendance

Television Coverage

From 1973 to 2018, the Seven Network broadcast the Australian Open in Australia. In March 2018, the Nine Network took over the rights. They started broadcasting in 2019 and will continue until 2029. This event is very popular in Australia. It helps broadcasters promote their new shows for the year.

In Europe, Eurosport broadcasts the tournament. Other channels have also shown it. These include the BBC in the UK and SRG in Switzerland. In the United States, you can watch it on ESPN2, ESPN3, and the Tennis Channel. The championship matches are live on ESPN.

In Asia, the tournament is shown on many networks. These include CCTV in China and NHK in Japan. In the Indian subcontinent, Sony Six has broadcast it since 2015.

A panoramic view of Rod Laver Arena during a day session at the 2020 Australian Open

Tournament Attendance

The Australian Open is the most attended Grand Slam tournament. The 2025 tournament set a new record with 1,218,831 visitors. The record for a single day was 97,132 people on January 17, 2025.

Attendance records began in 1987. This was when the tournament moved from December to January. 1987 was the last year it was held at the Kooyong Tennis Club. Since 1988, it has been at Melbourne Park. The number of visitors has grown by more than 7% on average. These numbers include people who attended qualifying matches and pre-tournament events.

See also

In Spanish: Abierto de Australia para niños

• Australian Open extreme heat policy
• Australian Open series

Lists of champions

• List of Australian Open champions (all events)
  • List of Australian Open men's singles champions
  • List of Australian Open women's singles champions
  • List of Australian Open men's doubles champions
  • List of Australian Open women's doubles champions
  • List of Australian Open mixed doubles champions
• List of Australian Open singles finalists during the Open Era, records and statistics

Other Grand Slam tournaments

• French Open
• Wimbledon Championships
• US Open