Australian Open

The Australian Open is a tennis tournament organised by Tennis Australia annually at Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It is the first of the four major tennis tournaments every year, held before the French Open, Wimbledon and the US Open.

The Australian Open typically starts around the middle of January and continues for two weeks, concluding with the men's final traditionally held on the last Sunday of the month. It features men's and women's singles, men's, women's and mixed doubles, juniors’ championships, wheelchair, legends, and exhibition events.

Formerly played on grass courts, it switched to hard court in 1988. Three types of hardcourt surfaces have been used: green-coloured Rebound Ace (1988–2007), blue Plexicushion (2008–2019), and blue GreenSet since 2020.

First held in 1905 as the Australasian championships, the Australian Open has grown to become one of the biggest sporting events in the Southern Hemisphere. Nicknamed "the happy slam", the Australian Open is the highest attended Grand Slam event, with more than 1,360,000 people attending the 2026 tournament, including qualifying. It was also the first Grand Slam tournament to feature indoor play during wet weather or extreme heat with its three primary courts, Rod Laver Arena, John Cain Arena and the refurbished Margaret Court Arena equipped with retractable roofs.

The Australian Open has been held at the Melbourne Park complex since 1988 and is a major contributor to the Victorian economy; the 2026 Australian Open delivered A$722.3 million into the state's economy, while over the preceding decade, the Australian Open contributed more than A$3.9 billion in economic benefits to the state. Major occupations associated with the tournament include accommodation, hotels, cafés and trade services sectors.