The tournament was played on grass courts until 1988, when it moved to its current location at Melbourne Park, which features hard courts and retractable roofs for indoor play during wet weather or extreme heat. In 1927, the name was changed to the Australian Championships, and in 1969, it became the Australian Open. The Australian Open was not held between 19, or 19, due to international conflicts happening at the time.
It was not originally planned to become a massive international tournament, but in 1923, the International Lawn Tennis Federation decided that this would be a worldwide event. The Australian Open has been staged in five different cities in Australia, as well as in New Zealand twice (19). The tournament began in 1905 as the Australasian Championships, and was held in Melbourne at the Warehouseman’s Cricket Ground. The Australian Open is one of the four prestigious Grand Slam tennis tournaments that attract the best players and fans from around the world. The AO holds the record for the highest attendance of any tennis tournament ever staged with 812,174 people attending the 2020 edition.
