Australian Open Tennis

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Mon 06 Jan 2025 - Sun 26 Jan 2025

The Australian Open is one of the four major Grand Slam tennis tournaments, alongside the French Open, Wimbledon, and the US Open. It's played every January in Melbourne and is the season's first major.

With more than 1,100,000 people attending the tournament in 2024, it is nicknamed The Happy Slam. When my husband and I attended we discovered why, the atmosphere is electric.


Tennis is a sport I have always enjoyed, playing and watching. As part of a sports-loving family, tennis is our absolute favourite. We all enjoy watching the Australian Open, US Open, Wimbledon and other tournaments on television, but my highlight was going to the Australian Open Tennis in Melbourne in January 2024. We spent five days in Melbourne, three watching games in all the arenas.

The weather was pleasant, almost cool. I mention this because friends told us to be wary of the heat, Melbourne in January can experience extreme heat. The night sessions are popular as it can be cooler. We attended day and night, this is what most people do because watching tennis is fabulous.

So, with the pleasant weather, we watched six matches on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. We decided to attend at the end of the first week as there is more chance of seeing different players playing their first rounds. Tickets are also cheaper at this time. We even had a chance to watch Alex de Minaur warm up with his coach, Lleyton Hewitt before his match with a Chinese opponent, who unfortunately retired injured after the first set.

There are day passes where you can stroll around and watch matches on the outer courts if you don't have tickets. These are reasonably priced but the price does increase the closer you get to the finals. We chose the first week to attend, but many tennis fans only go for the finals opting to pay the higher cost to see the best players.


The Arenas at Melbourne Park
Rod Laver Arena
This is a ticketed arena with 15,000 seats.
Margaret Court Arena
Ticketed arena with 7,500 seats
Melbourne Arena
With almost 10,000 seats, this arena is also used as a cycling velodrome
Show Courts 2 & 3
Each of these courts seats 3,000. Tickets are not required for these courts.


We purchased tickets for Margaret Court Arena without knowing who would be playing. When Daniil Medvedev came onto the court, we were so pleased to watch a player who ranks in the Top 10. His Canadian opponent played well but was no match for Medvedev.


Watching tennis matches at Melbourne Park with the atmosphere, music and players right in front of you, is a great experience. We were in the third row behind the players watching Medvedev's match, so close we could hear the players speaking to the umpire.

During breaks, the arena erupts with music and Channel 9 commentators fueling the atmosphere with games and giveaways. Any sport watched live gives you a feeling of being a part of the game, I recommend anyone who loves sports to go to live events at least once.


We met Carlos Alcaraz from Spain, who was the world's No.2 then, at our hotel on the morning of his match. He was kind enough to take a selfie with us. He is a young player who has a long career ahead of him.

The Australian Open is played during the height of our Aussie summer, so there is an Extreme Heat Policy in place to protect players. They are given cooling breaks and court covers. There are covered areas in the arenas for spectators too and a shady side, which is where we sat. Check the seating map when you are purchasing tickets.

Tickets are on sale now. Once you have your tickets, be sure to book your accommodation ASAP. Melbourne is busy during January, especially in the weeks of the Australian Open.

The food at the Open is your usual fare of street food, pizzas, pies, and chips, the quality is reasonable but can be expensive when you're there all day and night. If you can, take your own food with you, including fruit or small snacks to keep you fueled for all the walking you do between arenas. A drink bottle is also a must, there are filling stations throughout the park. Hats are also a good idea.

This was our experience at the Australian Open, we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves and will be going again in future, we are tennis tragics. We may stay longer next time because three successive long days watching tennis is tiring. Staying longer means enjoying more of the great cafes, laneways, theatres, and shops in Melbourne, a spot of shopping and culture on a holiday is always a good thing.

For more information about the Australian Open Tennis and to purchase tickets, go to the website - Tickets or this - page

Images from Maria-MPG Narratives unless stated otherwise


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#family_friendly
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