Melbourne: A glance at the Australian Open, the first Grand Slam tennis tournament of 2024:
Surface: Hard courts
Site: Melbourne Park
Schedule: Play begins Sunday morning in Australia (Saturday night ET) at what will be a scheduled 15-day tournament for the first time. That’s because Tennis Australia decided to add an extra day of competition to add some extra breathing room and try to avoid late-night matches by shifting Day 1 from Monday to Sunday. It also gives them a chance to sell more tickets, of course. The women’s singles final is Saturday, Jan. 27; the men’s singles final is Sunday, Jan. 28.
Women’s singles champion in 2023: Aryna Sabalenka, Belarus
Men’s singles champion in 2023: Novak Djokovic, Serbia
Last year at the Australian Open: Sabalenka came back to beat Elena Rybakina 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 to earn her first Grand Slam trophy. Sabalenka had been 0-3 in major semifinals until that tournament and would go on to briefly reach No. 1 in the rankings later in the season. Djokovic defeated Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-3, 7-6 (4), 7-6 (5) to cap a successful, if tumultuous, return to Australia a year after being deported because he was not vaccinated against COVID-19 (he never did get the shots, but the country’s restrictions have been eased). Among the challenges this time were a troublesome hamstring and off-court distractions involving Djokovic’s father. It was Djokovic’s 10th Australian Open title and 22nd overall major title — a total he has since raised to 24, the most by anyone in the sport’s Open era, which began in 1968.
The top of the rankings: Four-time Grand Slam champion Iga Swiatek is No. 1 in the women’s rankings, with Sabalenka at No. 2, Rybakina at No. 3, Coco Gauff at No. 4, and Jessica Pegula at No. 5. Djokovic is No. 1 among the men, followed by two-time major champ Carlos Alcaraz at No. 2, Daniil Medvedev at No. 3, Jannik Sinner at No. 4, and Andrey Rublev at No. 5.
Naomi Osaka is back: Naomi Osaka, Angelique Kerber and Caroline Wozniacki all own Australian Open titles — and all are making their returns to the tournament after taking time away from tennis to become mothers. Osaka won two of her four Grand Slam trophies in Melbourne, in 2019 and 2021; Kerber won the Australian Open in 2016 and has three majors in all; Wozniacki’s lone Slam championship came in Australia in 2018.
Rafael Nadal is absent: Rafael Nadal’s highly anticipated return to Grand Slam action was put on hold when he withdrew from the Australian Open because of a small muscle tear near the hip he hurt in Melbourne a year ago during a second-round loss. Nadal, who is 37, had surgery in June and last week played his first competitive matches in a year. He won two of his 22 major titles in Australia. Among other noteworthy players missing from the field: Nick Kyrgios (injured) and Simona Halep (doping suspension).
Key statistics: 1 — Grand Slam titles for Gauff, the 19-year-old American who won the US Open in September and now will enter a major tournament with a major trophy on her resume for the first time.
28 — Djokovic’s winning streak at the Australian Open, the longest for a man in the Open era there.
Prize money: Total prize money for the Australian Open is rising to 86.5 million Australian dollars (about $58 million), which is 13% higher than 2023. The two singles champions will each receive 3.15 million Australian dollars (about $2.1 million).
AP