History Of The Australian Open Tennis Championship

The Australian Open Tennis Championship is one of the 4 tennis grand slam events.

The tournament was first played in Melbourne in 1905. Originally, it was called the Australasian Championships. Five thousand people attended the first final.

Seventeen years later,in 1922, a women’s singles event was added.

In 1969 the tournament was renamed the Australian Open.

Until 1972, the location of the championship was rotated amongst several Australian cities. Interestingly, the tournament was actually held in New Zealand in 1906 and 1912. In 1972, the tournament was moved permanently to Melbourne.

In 1977 two tournaments were actually held  - the first in January and the second in December.

No tournament was held in 1986 as the tournament was moved back to January and was held in January, 1987.

Roy Emerson, an Australian, won the men's singles title 6 times -more than any other man. Unfortunately, one of the greatest tennis players of all time - Bjorn Borg- never competed in the Australian Open.

 Margaret Smith Court, another Australian, holds the record for most singles titles by a woman with 11.

The youngest and oldest winner of the mens title is the same man  - Ken "muscles" Rosewall , the diminutive but deadly Australian legend. Rosewall won at the age of 18 in 1953 and at the age of 37 in 1972.

The youngest champion ever on the female side was Martina Hingis, who won  at the age of 16 in 1997.

The Australian Open is known for the very hot weather conditions at that time of year in Australia. One of the unusual features of the Australian Open facility in recent years is the retractable roof which allows for play during any weather conditions.

In case of rain or excessive heat, the roof is closed and play can continue. This is the only retractable roof on the tennis Grand Slam circuit which includes the Australian Open, the French Open, Wimbledon, and the US Open.