The Australian Open, also known as the Australian Open, is the first of the year’s four tennis Grand Slams and usually takes place in January. If you’re a fan of the sport or are just starting to follow the competition, you need to keep reading this guide and learn all about the Australian Open.
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All about the Australian Open: history
Held annually in Melbourne, Australia, the Australian Open brings together the best tennis players in the world for an epic contest on hard courts.
Currently, it’s the first Grand Slam of the year, followed by Roland Garros, Wimbledon and US Open, respectively.
The Open began to be played in 1905, but only became a Grand Slam in 1924;
With more than 110 years of history, the Australian Open has been held in six different cities, until it settled in Melbourne in 1972, when it became the first stadium with a covered court (retractable roof), offering more comfort for the players and the public, since the tournament takes place in the hot Australian summer.
Australian Open rules
Currently, the Australian Open follows the basic rules of tennis, with a few peculiarities:
- Formato: O torneio segue um formato de eliminatória simples, com 128 jogadores na chave principal masculina e feminina.
- Sets: As partidas são disputadas em melhor de três sets, com exceção da final masculina, disputada em melhor de cinco sets.
- Tiebreak: Em caso de empate em 6 a 6 em qualquer set, um tie-break decide o vencedor.
Basic tennis rules
To help you understand all about the Australian Open, we’re going to give you a quick overview of some of the general rules of tennis;
Starting with the serve, in sport, the player who serves initiates the point. They must throw the ball up and hit it with the racket before it hits the ground twice.
The player who receives the serve must return the ball before it touches the ground for the second time.
A point is scored when the ball touches the ground inside the opponent’s court, without any defense, or when the opponent makes an error.
A game is won by the first player to reach four points with at least two points difference.
That’s why it’s essential to understand the sequence of points in a tennis match:
- 0 (love)
- 15
- 30
- 40
- game.
In other words, every four “points” a game is counted. The set is won by the first player to reach six games with at least two points difference.
In the event of a 6-6 draw in a set, a tiebreak decides the winner of the set.
Last but not least, a match is won by best of five sets, which means that the athlete needs to win three sets to take the match.
Electronic review
The electronic review technology, called Hawk-Eye, was implemented at the Australian Open in 2018 to help make accurate decisions on dubious shots.
To make the revisions, each player is entitled to three challenges per set and a fourth challenge is granted if the set goes to a tiebreak.
In cases of successful challenges, where the court marking is changed due to the review, the athlete does not lose the challenge, i.e. he continues with the same amount of challenges, after all, he was “right” to ask for the review;
However, if the technology marking remains the same as the one made on the court, the athlete loses a challenge.
A player may challenge a line marking up to five seconds after the play, and must communicate the request for a review verbally to the chair umpire.
The Hawk-Eye system uses 10 high-speed cameras to track the trajectory of the ball and, from the images captured, the system generates a 3D representation of the play, used to determine whether the ball was inside or outside the lines.
All about the Australian Open
Who are the greatest Australian Open champions?
The greatest Australian Open champions are:
- Novak Djokovic (Serbia): Known as the “King of Melbourne”, with 9 titles (2008, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2015, 2016, 2019, 2020 and 2023), Djokovic holds the record for the most titles in the Open era.Roy Emerson (Australia): even though he has been retired for many years, the former tennis player still ranks second among the greatest champions of the Australia Open, with 6 titles (1961, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1967 and 1968) won in a golden era for Australian tennis.Roger Federer (Switzerland): Recently retired, Federer has also collected 6 titles (2003, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2010 and 2017) and is one of the best male tennis players of all time.Ken Rosewall (Australia): won 4 titles (1953, 1955, 1956 and 1971) and stood out for his versatility on different surfaces.Jack Crawford (Australia): Another big name of the Australian era, Crawford won 4 titles (1928, 1930, 1931 and 1932) and marked an era with his aggressive style of play and technical ability.
- Roy Emerson (Austrália): mesmo aposentado há muitos anos, o ex-tenista ainda ocupa o segundo lugar entre os maiores campeões do Australia Open, com 6 títulos (1961, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1967 e 1968) conquistados em uma época de ouro para o tênis australiano.
- Roger Federer (Suíça): recém-aposentado, Federer também coleciona 6 títulos (2003, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2010 e 2017) e é um dos melhores tenistas homens de todos os tempos.
- Ken Rosewall (Austrália): conquistou 4 títulos (1953, 1955, 1956 e 1971) e se destacou pela versatilidade em diferentes superfícies.
- Jack Crawford (Austrália): Outro grande nome da era australiana, Crawford conquistou 4 títulos (1928, 1930, 1931 e 1932) e marcou época com seu estilo de jogo agressivo e habilidade técnica.
In women’s tennis, the greatest Australian Open champions are:
- Margaret Court (Australia): The “Queen of the Australian Open”, Court holds the all-time record for titles, with 11 wins (1960, 1961, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1973 and 1977).Serena Williams (United States): One of the greatest female tennis players of all time, she has won 7 Australian Open titles (2003, 2005, 2007, 2009, 2010, 2012 and 2015).Steffi Graf (Germany): Graf has collected 6 titles (1988, 1989, 1990, 1994, 1995 and 1996) and has stood out for the precision of her shots and her consistency at a high level.Mona Jaureggart (Australia): One of the pioneers of women’s tennis, Jaureggart won 4 titles (1951, 1952, 1955 and 1956).Evonne Goolagong Cawley (Australia): also with 4 titles (1971, 1974, 1976 and 1977), Cawlay stood out for her elegant style of play and skillful volleying.
- Serena Williams (Estados Unidos): Uma das maiores tenistas mulheres de todos os tempos, conquistou 7 títulos (2003, 2005, 2007, 2009, 2010, 2012 e 2015) do Australian Open.
- Steffi Graf (Alemanha): Graf coleciona 6 títulos (1988, 1989, 1990, 1994, 1995 e 1996) e se destacou pela precisão dos golpes e pela consistência em alto nível.
- Mona Jaureggart (Austrália): Uma das pioneiras do tênis feminino, Jaureggart conquistou 4 títulos (1951, 1952, 1955 e 1956).
- Evonne Goolagong Cawley (Austrália): também com 4 títulos (1971, 1974, 1976 e 1977), Cawlay se destacou por seu estilo de jogo elegante e habilidade nos voleios.
What is the prize money for the Australian Open?
In 2024, the Australian Open distributed R$ 280 million, or 86.5 million Australian dollars.
The amounts are received with each victory, and the amounts are simple:
- Campeão: R$ 10,2 milhões
- Vice-Campeão: R$ 5,6 milhões
- Semi-final: R$ 3,2 milhões
- Quartas de final: R$ 1,9 milhão
- Oitavas de final: R$ 1,2 milhão
- Terceira rodada: R$ 822 mil
- Segunda rodada: R$ 582 mil
- Primeira rodada: R$ 389 mil
The fees for the doubles tournament are:
- Campeão: R$ 2,3 milhões
- Vice-Campeão: R$ 1,3 milhão
- Semi-final: R$ 738 mil
- Quartas de final: R$ 415 mil
- Terceira rodada: R$ 243 mil
- Segunda rodada: R$ 172 mil
- Primeira rodada: R$ 116 mil
What is the ATP/WTA Ranking?
The Australian Open offers valuable points for the ATP/WTA ranking, which defines the position of players on the world circuit, and distributes the following points:
- Qualificatório: 40 pontos
- Primeira Rodada: 10 pontos
- Segunda Rodada: 70 pontos
- Terceira Rodada: 130 pontos
- Oitavas de final: 240 pontos
- Quartas de final: 430 pontos
- Semifinal: 780 pontos
- Final (vice) 1.300 pontos
- Final (campeão) 2.000 pontos
When will the Australian Open be in 2025?
The next Australian Open will be held between January 12 and 26, 2025. Now that you know all about the Australian Open, you’re ready for a year of excitement, fierce competition and great moments at the first Grand Slam of the year!
Who are your favorite tennis players? Will they take the tournaments and start 2025 on the right foot? Jannik Sinner was the big winner in 2024.
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