AUSTRALIAN OPEN GRAND SLAM CHAMPIONSHIPS

The Australian Open is held each January at Melbourne Park, the tournament was held for the first time in 1905 and was contested on grass from then up to 1987. Since 1988, the tournament has been held on hard courts.

The Australian Open is the first of the four Grand Slam tennis tournaments held each year. Like all other Grand Slam tournaments, there are men's and women's singles competitions; men's, women's, and mixed doubles; and junior's and master's competitions.

The Australian Open typically has very high attendance, with the 2009 Australian Open achieving the highest ever single-day day/night attendance record for any Grand Slam tournament of 66,018.

In 2008, the Rebound Ace surface, which had been in place for the past 20 years at Melbourne Park, was replaced by a cushioned, medium-paced, acrylic surface known as Plexicushion Prestige. The main benefits of the new surface are better consistency and less retention of heat (because of a thinner top layer).

Australian Open Winner's Archive