He Australian Open It takes place every January at the sports complex located in Melbourne Park, in the city of Melbourne.
The tournament was created on November 17, 1905 as «Australasian Championship«. Subsequently, from 1927 was renamed «Australian Championship«, and finally in 1968, changed its name to «Australian Open» in the same way that the rest of the tournaments that make up the «Grand Slam» tennis.
Australian Open: A bit of history
In a principle It was played on the Kooyong grass courts, in the southeast of the city of Melbourne, but in 1988, it was decided to move the competition to the new cement fields at its current location in Melbourne Park (then known as Flinders Park).
Between 1977 and 1985, the Australian Open was held in December, returning to its original location in January 1987. For this reason, two editions of the tournament were held in 1977, one in January and one in December, and in 1986 the tournament was not held.
Features of the Australian Open
Like the rest of the tournaments Grand Slam, the competition is divided into the following both male and female categories:
- Individuals
- Double
- Mixed doubles
- Juniors
- Veterans
- In a wheelchair
Held in the middle of the Australian summer, the tournament is famous for its days of extreme heatWhen this occurs, it is common for the game to stop and not resume until the temperature and humidity levels are restored to a safe level.
The success of the public attending the tournament is quite impressive; in 2008 it achieved the record for daily attendance at a Grand Slam tournament with a total of 62,885 attendees.
State-of-the-art tracks
The two main tracks of the complex have retractable roofs, allowing the game to continue in case of rain or extreme heat, closing it. Currently, these courts, together with those found in London, in it US Open, in the Magic Box of the Madrid Open and in the ATP Hamburg are the unique with this feature in the world.
State-of-the-art tracks
Changing track material
In 2008, it was decided change track material The game has been replaced by a new material, which allows the ball to travel at a slower speed, absorbs less heat and causes less wear on the players. However, the change of surface I don't like it very much, due to its similarity, with the one used in the US Open. For this reason, since 2020 Greenset It is the new material employed on the Melbourne Park pitches.
