The Australian Open Tennis tournament is one of four Grand Slam tennis tournaments in the world.

The Australian Open is held in Melbourne every year in the middle of summer.

It is held at the great Melbourne Park.

Australian Open Tennis Short History

Since the first Australian Open Tennis Championships were held in 1905, the tournament arena was held on grass through 1987. In 1988, the tournament started enjoying an especially constructed hard court. Mats Wilander is the only male player who has won the Australian Open both on grass and on hard court.
The Australian Open was originally held in Kooyong. In 1988, Melbourne Park was constructed to meet the evolving demands of the tournament and other sports tournaments and competitions. The move to the new Melbourne Park has increased the tournament’s attendance by 90% in the same year. For the past 20 years, the tournament was held on a Rebound Ace surface. In 2008, the court was replaced by a cushioned acrylic (Plexicushion) surface for better consistency and less heat retention. Perhaps the improvements done on the Melbourne tennis courts were a major factor to the success of Novak Djokovik and Maria Sharapova in the 2008 tournament. Roger Federer, the current World number one has given the new court a thumbs up.

Australian Open Tennis Weather Conditions

The Australian Open has got a reputation for its weather. Held in the Rod Laver Arena and Hisense Arena in Melbourne, the competition is notorious for its uncomfortably hot playing conditions. The Australian Open is being held in January, in the middle of Australian summer. This means it is hot with temperatures reaching over 40 degrees Celsius (> 100 Fahrenheit) quite regularly. To protect the players, the organizers have implemented an Extreme Heat Policy to regulate the playing conditions and to declare whether the environmental temperature is viable for international competition. In an effort to manage Melbourne’s extreme weather conditions, the playing arenas used for competition are installed with a retractable roof system, which can be shut in case of rain and extreme heat.

Australian Open Tennis as Tourist Attraction

Aside from the actual competition, the Australian Open has become a main tourist attraction in Melbourne, bringing in an overwhelming attendance of international guests and parties each year. For that reason, a daily line up of live entertainment right at the Melbourne Park is organized, making the Australian Open a great event to visit as a tourist as well.

When you buy tickets in attendance to the tournament, tickets for premium shows and concerts can also be purchased as an add-on. As the world’s stage for tennis in January of every year, Australian Open is also a crowd drawer with its line-up of live entertainment and concerts. For the Australian Open 2009, an ultra-carnival village will be taking over the Rod laver Arena, transforming the park into a festive hot-spot. Daring circus and burlesque variety shows, Absinthe, open late concerts and tennis elbow family circus are just few of the main attractions in the coming 2009 tournament.

The 2009 tournament promises a more exciting event, pursuing an astonishing AUS $20 million budget, attempting to break the record of the 584,476 attendance of the year 2008.

At a ticket price of $19 to $174, people can feel the action of the actual tennis tournament and enjoy fun time at the park shows and concerts.

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