How the Australian Open became the most popular tournament on the tour

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The Australian Open is one of the most popular tennis tournaments.

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Roger Federer once gave the tournament the nickname “Happy Slam”.

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The games can also be followed outside the arenas.

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In 2020 the attendance record was broken. Over 812,000 spectators were there.

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It feels like the Australian Open has already started on January 4th with the arrival of Novak Djokovic (ATP 1). Of course, there was nothing sporty, but everyone was concerned with the question: “Does he play or not?” This dampened the anticipation of fans and players for a tournament that most are very much looking forward to. Not for nothing did Roger Federer (41) give him the nickname “Happy Slam”. It was not always like that.

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Long before the big tennis stars fought epic matches on the blue hard courts in front of thousands of fans, the beginnings Down Under were much more modest. In 1905 they were first held as the Australasian Championship – on grass. An impractical thing in the Australian midsummer. At that time, the tournament did not always take place in Melbourne, but in Sydney, Adelaide and Perth, among others.

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It was not until 1968 that it found its current name during the Open Era, four years later it moved to Melbourne. While it was already considered one of the four major tennis tournaments, it was in the process of finding its own identity at the time.

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Everyone has something, just not the Australian Open

While Wimbledon honored British tradition, the French Open was chic and suited Paris, and the US Open was as big and loud as New York, the Aussie Open lacked that certain something. Few great tennis personalities have made the journey to play Down Under. Evil tongues described it as a “cheap copy of Wimbledon”.

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As a first step, the organization changed the surface – hard court instead of grass. And they set themselves the goal of becoming the Grand Slam of the Asian region. As is common in today’s business world, Australians targeted markets such as China and South Korea with their marketing efforts. Gradually, financially strong sponsors were also landed. The Korean car brand Kia is still the main sponsor of the tournament today.

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In particular, successes by Asian tennis stars – such as the victory of the Chinese Li Na in 2014 – ensure a boost in popularity. “We see the countries in Asia as the biggest growth area,” said Craig Tiley, tournament director of the Open and managing director of Tennis Australia, “we have offices in China. We promote sport in China.” However, this proximity to China was recently criticized when Peng Shuai disappeared.

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Melbourne arenas brave the weather

Nevertheless, the measures are bearing fruit. In 2020, the number of viewers reached a new record with a total of over 812,000. The tennis pros also regularly rave about the flair and the numerous facilities that are among the best in the world. The first stadiums of all Grand Slams with closable roofs were in Melbourne. So you can brave any weather.

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The tennis festival casts a spell over the whole city, during these weeks everything revolves around the yellow felt ball and its stars. And so the start of the season makes everyone “happy”.

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