Australian Open facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Australian Open

Official website: http://ausopen.com/
Founded	1905; 120 years ago (1905)
Editions	113 (2025) 113 Grand Slam events
Location	Melbourne CBD Australia
Venue	Melbourne Park
Surface	Hard – outdoors (since 1988) Grass – outdoors (1905–1987)
Prize money	A$96,500,000 (2025)
Men's
Draw	128S (128Q) / 64D (16Q)
Current champions	Jannik Sinner (singles) Harri Heliövaara Henry Patten (doubles)
Most singles titles	Novak Djokovic (10)
Most doubles titles	Adrian Quist (10)
Women's
Draw	128S (128Q) / 64D (16Q)
Current champions	Madison Keys (singles) Kateřina Siniaková Taylor Townsend (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
2025 Australian Open

The Australian Open is a huge tennis tournament held every year in Melbourne, Australia. It's the very first of the four major tennis events called Grand Slams. The others are the French Open, Wimbledon, and the US Open.

This exciting tournament usually kicks off in mid-January and lasts for two weeks. It features many different types of matches. You can watch men's and women's singles, doubles, and mixed doubles. There are also championships for junior players, wheelchair tennis, and even special events for tennis legends.

The Australian Open was first played on grass courts. But in 1988, it switched to hardcourts. Since then, it has used different types of blue hardcourts. The tournament is often called "the happy slam" because of its fun atmosphere. It's also the most popular Grand Slam, with over 1.2 million people attending the 2025 tournament! It was the first Grand Slam to have retractable roofs on its main courts. This means players can keep playing even if it rains or gets too hot.

History of the Australian Open

The Australian Open is run by Tennis Australia. It first started way back in November 1905. Back then, it was called the Australasian Championships. It was played on a grass court in Melbourne.

The tournament 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. Most of these were in Melbourne, but it also took place in other Australian cities like Sydney, Adelaide, Brisbane, and Perth. It even visited two cities in New Zealand: Christchurch and Hastings.

For a long time, not many players from other countries came to the tournament. This was because Australia is so far away. In the 1920s, a boat trip from Europe to Australia took about 45 days! Even within Australia, it was hard for players to travel. For example, when the tournament was in Perth, players from the east coast often couldn't make the long train journey.

During World War I (1916–1918) and World War II (1941–1945), the tournament was not held. In 1972, it was decided that Melbourne would be the permanent home for the tournament. This was because Melbourne attracted the most fans. The tournament was played at the Kooyong Lawn Tennis Club until 1988. Then, it moved to the new Flinders Park complex.

The move to Flinders Park was a huge success. The new facilities were much bigger and better. In 1988, attendance jumped by 90% compared to the year before! This move also meant a change from grass courts to hard courts. The first hard court surface used was called Rebound Ace.

The Open Era Begins

In 1969, the Australian Open became "open" to all players. This included professional players who weren't allowed to play in major tournaments before. However, for many years, some of the best players still missed the Australian Open. This was because it was so far away, the dates were often around Christmas and New Year, and the prize money was low.

In 1983, famous players like Ivan Lendl, John McEnroe, and Mats Wilander finally came to the tournament. Wilander even won the singles title that year. After this, the tennis authorities decided that the Kooyong stadium was too small. So, in 1988, the tournament moved to Flinders Park, which was later renamed Melbourne Park. This new venue also brought the change from grass to hard courts.

Mats Wilander is the only player to win the tournament on both grass and hard courts. In 2008, the Rebound Ace surface was replaced with a new one called Plexicushion Prestige. This new surface was more consistent and didn't get as hot. In 2020, the courts changed again to a GreenSet surface.

The tournament dates have changed a few times over the years. For example, there was no tournament in 1986. This was because they moved the event from mid-December to mid-January. Since 1987, the Australian Open has mostly stayed in January. In 2021, it was moved to February because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Melbourne Park Upgrades

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

Over the years, Melbourne Park has had many upgrades. These improvements made things better for both players and fans. For example, a retractable roof was added to Margaret Court Arena. This made the Australian Open the first Grand Slam to have three main courts with roofs. This means matches can continue no matter the weather!

The player facilities and spectator areas were also improved. The tournament area even expanded into a nearby park called Birrarung Marr. A new major show court, called Kia Arena, opened in late 2021. It can seat 5,000 people.

In December 2018, the Australian Open started using special tie-breaks in the final sets of matches. If the score reaches 6-6 in the final set, players now play a tie-break to 10 points.

In 2021, the tournament used electronic line judging for all matches. This meant no human line judges were needed. It was the first Grand Slam to do this!

Starting in 2024, the Australian Open began on a Sunday, one day earlier than usual. This change helped make sure matches didn't finish too late at night. In 2025, the Australian Open even hosted a pickleball tournament for the first time!

Courts at Melbourne Park

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 a larger sports and entertainment hub in Melbourne. Three of the main courts have retractable roofs. This is great for playing during rain or extreme heat. There are also many other courts for matches and practice.

The courts used to be Rebound Ace, then Plexicushion. Since 2020, they have used a GreenSet surface.

Main Courts

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		1988	3,000	No

Prize Money and Trophies

The Australian Open offers a lot of prize money! The total prize money for the 2025 tournament was A$96.5 million. The winners of the men's and women's singles events receive the same amount.

Doubles prize money is per team.

Trophies

The Daphne Akhurst Memorial Cup

The names of the champions are carved onto special trophy cups. These cups are made by a company called W. J. Sanders and take over 250 hours to create!

• The woman who wins the singles tournament gets the Daphne Akhurst Memorial Cup.
• The man who wins the singles tournament gets the Norman Brookes Challenge Cup.

The Norman Brookes Challenge Cup

Champions

Past Champions

You can find lists of all the past champions here:

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

Current Champions

Most Recent Finals

2025 Event	Champion	Runner-up	Score
Men's singles	Jannik Sinner	Alexander Zverev	6–3, 7–6(7–4), 6–3
Women's singles	Madison Keys	Aryna Sabalenka	6–3, 2–6, 7–5
Men's doubles	Harri Heliövaara Henry Patten	Simone Bolelli Andrea Vavassori	6–7(16-18), 7–6(7-5), 6–3
Women's doubles	Kateřina Siniaková Taylor Townsend	Hsieh Su-wei Jeļena Ostapenko	6–2, 6–7(4–7), 6–3
Mixed doubles	Olivia Gadecki John Peers	Kimberly Birrell John-Patrick Smith	3–6, 6–4, [10–6]

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.

Here are some amazing records from the Australian Open:

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
Other 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

New Rod Laver Arena entrance added in 2018 as part of the Melbourne Park redevelopment.

The Australian Open is shown on TV all around the world. In Australia, the Nine Network broadcasts the tournament. In Europe, you can watch it on Eurosport. In the United States, ESPN2 and ESPN show the matches. Many other countries also have their own broadcasters.

New Show Court Arena that opened in 2022.

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

How Many People Attend?

The Australian Open is the most attended Grand Slam tournament. The 2025 tournament set a new record with over 1.2 million people attending! The record for a single day was 97,132 people on January 17, 2025.

Here's how many people have attended the tournament each year since it moved to Melbourne Park:

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