Did you know they use around 40,000 tennis balls during the Australian Open, which is held every summer at Melbourne Park? Perhaps you thought the event has always been held in Victoria’s capital city. On the contrary, there was a time when the Australian Championship – its former name – toured the continent, and even crossed twice to New Zealand in 1906 and again in 1912.
Theticketmerchant.com.au reveals some of the most interesting bits of information on this Grand Salm event.
One of the Biggest Sporting Events in the Asia Pacific Region
Rod Laver, Ken Rosewall, Margaret Court, Roy Emerson, Martina Hingis, Rafael Nadal, Thelma Coyne Long Lleyton Hewitt, Serena Williams, Margaret Smith, Mats Wilander, Novak Djokovic, and Roger Federer are some of the notable tennis players who have graced the ground of the only Grand Slam tennis event that is held in the Asia-Pacific region. For fans of the Australian Open, tickets are available for purchase online. Moreover, like other Grand Slam events of the year, you have to fight tooth and nail to get the best seats in the house.
A Historical Overview of the Aussie Open
It all started in 1905, when only Australian tennis players were entered in the matches. When air travel allowed the US to join, they flew to the Land Down Under to participate, marking the year 1946 as the first Open, which involved foreign professional athletes. Since then the tournament continues to garner strong support from local tennis fans and sports enthusiasts.
Like the Championships Wimbledon of the United Kingdom, the Aussie Open started out as a tournament played on grass courts. Unlike Wimbledon, the organizers decided to switch to hard court in 1988. Both Rod Laver Arena and Hisense Arena have hard-court surfaces.
The middle of January is now the agreed schedule for the Aussie Open, but before 1977, the schedule would shift from January to March, and it was even held in August in one year. Summers in Melbourne are unbearably hot at times, reaching as high as 45 degrees Celsius in the daytime. Players and spectators alike are reminded to take additional precautions when the thermometer goes beyond 40 degrees.
