The Australian Open is a tennis tournament held annually at Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Australia. The tournament is the first of the four Grand Slam tennis events held each year, preceding the French Open, Wimbledon, and the US Open. The Australian Open starts in the middle of January and continues for two weeks coinciding with the Australia Day holiday.[d] It features men’s and women’s singles; men’s, women’s, and mixed doubles; junior’s championships; and wheelchair, legends, and exhibition events. Novak Djokovic has the most Australian Open men’s singles titles of all time with nine. Before 1988, it was played on grass courts, but since then three types of hardcourt surfaces have been used: green-coloured Rebound Ace up to 2007, blue Plexicushion from 2008 to 2019, and blue GreenSet since 2020.[1][2]
First held in 1905 as the Australasian championships, the Australian Open has grown to become one of the biggest sporting events in the Southern Hemisphere.[3] Nicknamed “the happy slam”,[4] the Australian Open is the highest attended Grand Slam event, with more than 812,000 people attending the 2020 tournament. It was also the first Grand Slam tournament to feature indoor play during wet weather or extreme heat with its three primary courts, Rod Laver Arena, John Cain Arena and the refurbished Margaret Court Arena equipped with retractable roofs.
The Australian Open is a major contributor to the Victorian economy: the 2020 Australian Open injected $387.7 million into the Victorian economy, while over the preceding decade the Australian Open had contributed more than $2.71 billion in economic benefits to Victoria and generated 1775 jobs for the state, with these jobs being predominantly in the accommodation, hotels, cafés and trade services sectors
It’s Grand Slam time again Down Under as the Australian Open returns to Melbourne Park in 2023.
The Australian Open 2023 main draw will start on Monday, January 16 with the start of the men’s and women’s singles.
It will conclude on Sunday, January 29 with the men’s singles final, with the women’s singles final played the night before.
Qualifying for the Australian Open main draw will start on Monday January 9 and wind up on Thursday, January 12 ahead of the draw.
Djokovic comes into Australian Open as the favorite. He has the quality to be the No.1 even now’: Todd Woodbridge
The top Men contenders:
The two biggest questions for the 2023 Aus Open are:
Is that Novak Djokovic going to be allowed play? The official line from tournament director Craig Tiley is, “Novak Djokovic would be welcomed to play at the Australian Open if he can obtain a visa.” If he plays, the nine-time Australian Open winner would be the hot favorite, but as he’s unlikely to play, this blows the tournament wide open.
Is Rafa Nadal going to be fit and injury free? Last year’s winner will likely be the favorite if the answer is yes. It will be tough to beat the Spaniard if he’s fully fit. The current GOAT has limited time to win more grand slams, so he will put everything into the 2023 grand slams.
Current world number one, the 19-year-old superstar Carlos Alcaraz will come in hot after his US Open win. Or will he suffer the much-talked-about first slam lull? It often happens when players fail to follow up on that first big success. However, we firmly believe that Alcaraz has what it takes to win many slams. The best tennis betting sites have him as the second or third favorite, but we’re placing him as a joint favorite with his fellow Spaniard Rafa Nadal.
Another player to watch out for is Daniil Medvedev. The Russian must be very hungry for his second grand slam by now. He’s had a quiet run since his first grand slam win at the US Open in 2021. His surgery last year and failure to win big tournaments have made him drop the ATP rankings. However, Medvedev has already tasted a grand slam win and is more than capable of beating anyone on the ATP Tour, so we think he’ll be a contender in 2023.
Challengers
Casper Ruud will be looking to avenge his loss to Alcaraz at the US Open, and the Norwegian comes off the back of enormous success over the last two years. He has proved that he can make grand slam finals, and if it weren’t for Alcaraz, he would be world number one right now. We think it’s only a matter of time before he wins a slam, and Australia could be his chance.
Jannik Sinner has proved he can go pound-to-pound with any top player, so he’s a serious contender.
And after his best year ever, we can’t have a conversation about favorites for the first grand slam of the year without mentioning Nick Kyrgios. He is on home turf and may be more motivated than ever to taste grand slam success finally.
There you have it. We are placing the current greatest tennis player of all time – Rafa Nadal, and the best player in 2022 – Carlos Alcaraz, as joint favorites at the 2023 Australian Open.
Top Women contenders:
Iga Swiatek +175
After a dominant 2022 tennis season, Iga Swiatek will look to kick off the new year with her first Australian Open title.
She made it to the semi-finals last year but came up short, losing to Danielle Collins. From there, the 21-year-old Pole went on to win both the French and US Open. It was a sparkling season for Swiatek, who at one point compiled a 37-match win streak.
The world No. 1 has three Grand Slam titles in her young career and is the overwhelming favorite at this year’s Aussie Open.
Aryna Sabalenka +1200
Former world No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka has 10 career titles but has never made it past the semis in a Grand Slam tournament.
The Belarusian reached the semi-finals at the US Open in 2022. She won the first set 6-3 against Iga Swiatek but lost the final two 6-1, 6-4 to the eventual champion.
Sabalenka is an imposing figure on the court at 6’0 and plays an aggressive style that can be dominant but also produce plenty of unforced errors.
The 24-year-old was ousted in the fourth round of the Aussie in 2021 and 2022. Could this be the year she breaks through?
Ons Jabeur +1200
It was a historic season for Tunisia’s finest, Ons Jabeur. In 2022, Jabeur became the first and only Muslim and Arab player to make the finals at both Wimbledon and the US Open.
The 28-year-old is the world No. 2 and the highest-ranked African and Arab player in WTA and ATP history. After falling just short last year, Jabeur will look to add a Grand Slam to her three career titles.
Her best finish at the Aussie Open was in 2020, when she lost in the quarters.