Australian Open

It had been a good decade since I’d been to the Open. Used to get a week 1 ground pass every year as a teen but got a bit sick of the crowds by the end and gave it up. Crowds are still there but managed a lot better these days. You have to either a) plan your day meticulously to avoid lines or get there early and sit in the same seat all day, b) spend all day in lines to try and get into one of the big courts to see a decent name, or c) wander around drink in hands and just watch some fun lower-​ranked or doubles tennis at the less popular courts. We went with option c) and had a great day. There’s also option d) spend all day in the Heineken area drinking beer and kind of forgetting you’re at the tennis. A fun option but not one we went with this time. Maybe next year.

After 5pm ground pass is the way to go with this place. Most of the day trippers have left and if you play your cards right you’ll see 2 matches poss 3. The heat of the day has gone and it is a great way to end the day.
Show court 2 is my absolute favourite, with views of the city, it is next to Margaret court arena and somehow seems tucked away. The food and drink places are much nicer and seem to be somewhat less busy.
If you come on a weekend get here for 11. I made the mistake of arriving after 12pm and then spent a painful hour queuing to get into hisense.
Food and drink is ridiculous. Try and be organised and bring your own food in. Anything to spend less time queuing and getting blatantly robbed.

Tickets to see the professionals are on average $ 80 and a little cheaper for general. Keep in mind before driving there is absolutely no parking there. I had a decent time but left $ 250 lighter.

Only tennis fanatics would shell out hundreds of dollars to watch high-​profiled names play tennis in person. Sure, the ticket to the 2014 men’s singles semifinals burned a hole in my wallet, but the the experience was phenomenal. The fact that I was able to watch a prestigious match between Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer was worthwhile.
The Australian Open is the second grand slam I’ve attended (US Open being the first). Rod Laver Arena is the largest arena at Melbourne Park, yet it’s small enough — relative to Arthur Ashe Stadium at Flushing Meadows in New York — that it gives a more intimate setting, closer to the players. I love how Rod Laver has a retractable roof, especially because Melbourne’s weather can be so unpredictable. Luckily for us, it was a beautiful and warm summer night.
There wasn’t a huge variety of food at Rod Laver; it was mainly fish and chips, burgers, pre-​packaged sandwiches and salads. Though, quite a lot of beer and wines were available. Unfortunately, there wasn’t a cool souvenir cup to take home, similar to what was offered at the US Open.
Ticket holders get to ride a free tram to and from CBD. If you’re lucky enough to live near Melbourne Park, say within 1.5 km, I advise walking there because it’s less crowded and more scenic. If you plan to watch the singles night sessions, buy tickets early; they go on sale around early October of the previous year. Otherwise, the day ground passes are still a good deal, with admission to only the outside courts, and they can be purchased on-​site.

Super Saturday: Some people go to the open to watch the tennis, others may just go for drinking.
My advice, if you are there for there the drinking: there’s a super awesome new decking near show court 2. No queues, no show ponies, just wholesome seats, beers and good times.
Go back to the beer garden later in the afternoon and line up then. Much quicker.
For those that love the tennis, Margaret Court Arena is looking pretty good these days. Great seats and a view.
Bring on next January.

Always a fun time at the tennis. I like to walk around the outside courts with a slurpee and pretzel. I’m not a huuuge tennis fan, but I do like to attend once or twice for the atmosphere. Bring your sunscreen! Even if it’s an overcast day, I saw a lot of burnt faces and shoulders walking around. Very cool Melbourne event :)

The Australian Open, the first of four «majors» on the tennis pros calendar. It is highly regarded by players as a very well organised event at a world class venue. How right they are!
The Australian Open is a great experience, if you are a fan of tennis. It’s where people from all over the world come to attend and be part of the best Grand Slam event. Sure I’m biased, but I’m allowed to be as an Aussie.
Getting to the event is easy, with free transport (if you have tickets to the event) provided to patrons. Even if you don’t have tickets yet, it’s very cheap to get there by Tram. Once there, if you want to just buy ground passes (which are $ 30+), this gives you access to all side courts, including Margaret Court, except HiSense and Rod Laver Arena. For Rod Laver and HiSense, you’ll have to buy match tickets, if they’re not sold out already. Matches that I was lucky enough to see at Rod Laver, cost me $ 130. Great value though, as you will see two matches, be up all night, enthralled, and totally in the moment! The «Fanatics» supporters are a great bunch of guys, if you are lucky enough to see an Aussie play a match, as they add to the court atmosphere.
Nevertheless, its always fun to just wander around, soak in the atmosphere, and party with people from all over the place, at the Heineken tent. There’s food stalls, alcohol, Dj’s, and live music performances. It really is a Festival atmosphere that you’ll forget you were there for the tennis!
Be prepared though, as it is a Summer event, and this is in Melbourne. Where one day, it’s a 43 degree «heatwave», and the next it’s a chilly 15 degrees!

The Aussie Open — Grand Slam of the Asia-​Pacific region and first one for the year. I regret to say that it was the first time that I’d been to it this year but I can promise that it won’t be the last… A lot of that has to be because I want to see Roger Federer live on court before he calls it a day.
I had corporate tickets through work so had really good seats a few rows behind the players box. We also had lunch in the Vine Dining room and access to the K & L Bar as well.
I loved it. Some say that, when it comes to the tennis, it doesn’t make much difference if you watch it on tv or if you do it live on court. Well, I agree to a certain extent. Watching it live on court, it’s about the atmosphere, the ambience and you also get to see your favourite players up close. It’s quite an amazing experience because players such as Federer, Nadal, Murray and Djokovic; it’s a fantastic experience watching them move around the court. Also, Rod Laver Arena (or RLA as it’s referred to.) is a great tennis court to be at.
The whole Open itself is a great atmosphere from the merchandise stalls, the live band, the food stalls and other entertainment that’s on offer. It’s a good day to be out on a beautiful summer day.
It can get quite pricey depending on what seats you get but it’s a lot of fun, which makes it worth it so don’t spend it all on New Years and save some for the Open!

Fantastic event. Wished the pricing made it easier to justify tickets into Rod Laver during the earlier stages, but the $ 39 grounds pass is a great way to take in the action on the periphery courts. Managed to catch a couple great singles matches featuring 15 and 19 seeds, so great value for the money.
Tips: bring hat, bring a towel (to protect against scorching seats, and to cover up if needed), bring plenty of your own food and water, and take advantage of the lounge chairs at the lawn in front of the giant screens to take in the Rod Laver action if you don’t have a ticket. Great ticket booth location at Fed Square helped avoid the lines at the tennis park itself.

Super planning and execution, I love going to the Australian Open.
Buy tickets early to avoid lines!
For a great day, get to tickets to Rod Laver Arena, and a hot tip, if you get tickets at the ends of the court, you will be out of the sun.
Bring your own food and drink if you can, lines can be long and prices are high.
Great for watching tennis. And people.
Look out for the gigant fans with misted water, they are a treat in a Melbourne Summer.

Look, I’m not going to pretend that I planned it this way, but the Australian Open started two days before I left Oz. I bought tickets ahead of time (and because it was the early days, it wasn’t too expensive) and bought in the shade and had a whale of a time. Look, it’s not Wimbledon (don’t get your dander up, Melbournians!) but it’s still an absolutely amazing time and something you SHOULD NOT MISS if you are traveling through Melbourne. And if you’re Australian, what’s your excuse for not coming? You can buy grounds tickets for like $ 20 AUD and see a bunch of great tennis from world-​class players. And check one of the Grand Slam venues off your «list.»

A secret that is not that well known, so don’t share it too far. The Aussie Open has qualifying matches on the Wednesday through Friday the week prior to the event. Here you can see all the up and comers (I’ve seen Djokovic play Wawrinka back in 2005 with about 12 people watching) and it’s free!!! Yes free!!! The bars are open and you can move about easily and watch the top players on courts 3 or Margaret Court going through their practice. Get on up!!!

Melbourne is renowned for its world class sporting events, a large portion of which is due to the annual Australian Open Grand Slam of tennis. For a few weeks every summer thousands of people pour into Melbourne to watch the greats of tennis from all over the world compete for a coveted Grand Slam Title.
Now, I am not a huge tennis fan. However, the experience of going to a match is very different than watching it on tv, and it can actually be exciting to watch. Whether you go to one of the finals in the main arena, or buy a ground pass to wander from qualifying match to match on the smaller courts, it’s a really fun day out and there is plenty to do and see inside the grounds.
Finals tickets can be expensive, so I will usually get a ground pass for around $ 30 and watch some of the qualifiers, including mens, womens and doubles. You can see some of the super stars out here too, so make sure you double check your schedules and plan your day.
My biggest tip? Make sure you bring sunscreen, and reapply SEVERAL times in a day. I dont think I’ve met anyone who hasnt gotten burnt at the tennis at some point, and that Aussie sun will beam down on you all day here.

The Australian Open is the first major of the year in the tennis calendar. It is one of two majors to be played on hard courts (the other being Flushing Meadows for the US Open). As you can imagine, the level of tennis is mind-​blowing up close and personal.
I’ve gone every single year I’ve been in Melbourne and I wouldn’t miss it for the world (despite no longer playing tennis much). If you want to see the top-​top players in the world, then you’ll have to buy tickets for the Hi-​Sense Arena and the Rod Laver Arena — the two show courts. Prices start at around $ 50 and prices get more expensive for the later stages of the tournament.
A great and inexpensive way of watching the tennis is by getting a ground pass. It is fairly cheap at $ 29 for the day (cheaper than Wimbledon) and there is so much quality tennis to be seen on the outside courts.
A word of advice: get a ground pass during the first week — there will be top 20 ranked players featured on the outside courts and the stadiums are fairly large with plenty of seating.
The support at the Australian Open is a lot more animated and rowdy than you get at Wimbledon. It makes for a great atmosphere and a fun day out irrespective of whether you’re into tennis.

Melbourne Park is host to this annual grand slam tennis event called the Australian Open, otherwise known as the grand slam of the asia pacific. It is great to observe that Melbourne Park in Richmond is undergoing some rejuvenation works in preparation for this event.
The energy appears to be somewhat different next year as many of the world’s best tennis players will come down to Melbourne to compete; and compete they will — they will give it all that they’ve got for the extra prize money on offer. The pool will increase. Tennis Australia also confirms this is the case. This means that spectators (both on site at the Rod Laver or Hisense Arenas; and outside the sites through viewing the big screen TV’s outside, or even on TV per se) will come to expect high (or even) higher quality tennis where the fireworks still go off on Australia Day.
Tickets are already on sale (at the time of writing this) through Ticketek. This event is held in January every year, and the 2012 event will be held between the 19^th to the 26^th of January. And again, tickets are already starting to sell to see any of the live tennis events at Melbourne Park itself.