Each year, all eyes of tennis fans all over the world are turned Down Under to follow the first Grand Slam of each year, the Australian Open. It is a tournament held in Melbourne (since 1972), in the Melbourne Park (since 1988) and it features men’s and women’s single and double events, as well as junior championships plus wheelchair events. Tennis star Roger Federer has given the event the nickname of “Happy Slam” because it is most players’ favorite event to attend. It is also the biggest annual sporting event in the Southern Hemisphere, with an attendance that often exceeds that of the US Open. But there are more things you didn’t know about the Australian Open.
Only wars can stop it
The Australian Open was held every year since 1905 except for the years between 1916 and 1918, and 1940 and 1945 respectively – both of the times, there were World Wars that stopped it from happening.
Turning up the heat
The Australian Open is held over the last fortnight of January (for those in the US, fortnight means two weeks). You might think “oh good, at least they don’t play in the sun” – and you’d be wrong. In Australia, January is the middle of summer, making it one of the hottest period of the year. The hottest Australian Open on record was played in 2009 when the temperatures reached an average daily maximum of 95F/34.7C.
What about the rain?
The Australian Open was the first Grand Slam tournament to feature indoor play during wet weather – probably because of the record-breaking rain of 4.25 inches/108mm that fell on the Kooyong Lawn Tennis Club in 1963. Today, the Rod Laver Arena, the Hisense Arena, and the Margaret Court Arena are equipped with retractable roofs that can be used in case of extreme rain or heat.
The longest Grand Slam ever
The longest Grand Slam ever happened at the Australian Open in 2012. That year, star players Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal engaged in an epic 5 hours 53-minute match to decide which one of them was best. The Serbian player won the match by 5–7, 6–4, 6–2, 6–7, 7–5.
Two can play that game
Last but not least an interesting fact from the 2017 Australian Open: American tennis player Serena Williams won her record-breaking 23rd Grand Slam singles tournament at Melbourne last year against her sister Venus. What the public didn’t know (and what sent the entire social media into a frenzy when it was “leaked” online) is that she won the tournament while pregnant.
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
