top of page
The Australian Open has changed venues more than any other Grand Slam in history. It was played in Sydney and Brisbane before making Kooyong its home in Melbourne for most of the post-war era. It moved from Kooyong in 1987 to the newly built Flinders Park Stadium, now known as Melbourne Park. The iconic stadium, with its Rod Laver and Margaret Court Arenas, was the first Grand Slam stadium to have a retractable roof, which was used during its first Women's final between Steffi Graf and Chris Evert in 1988.
Known as the 'Happy Slam' and regularly voted by players as the best organised of the Grand Slams, the Australian Open has not been an overly happy tournament for Australian players. The last Australian Men's Champion was Mark Edmondson in 1976. Ash Barty restored national pride in 2022, becoming the first Australian Women's champion since Christine O'Neill in 1978. Often played under searing summer skies, the Australian Open is considered to be Melbourne's premier sporting event.
For a rally good read, view our
Aus Open articles
Ice-storms and heatwaves
As much as we live in a globalised world in terms of trade, economics and, increasingly culture- look at the polyglot collection of films nominated for Best Picture at this year’s Oscars-, we still are a hemispheric world dramatically divided by nature. In Australia, the Australian Open is being played on days of unbearable heat . Last Saturday, the tournament’s heat policy was implemented as the surface temperature on centre court reached 65 degrees Celsius. The ballboys and
lydiajulian1
Jan 265 min read
The Bondi massacre, first a tragedy now a farce* (*apologies to KM)
Damn it all! Why is Newton’s third law always right? Barely a month after the Bondi massacre, Australia is witnessing a dispiriting inability to either politically or socially achieve an effective response to our worst ever terrorist attack. As a result of the Prime Minister’s initial anaemic reaction to the massacre, we have now had the Newtonian equal and opposite reaction , if not an overreaction. Suddenly, a Royal Commission is called, a national day of mourning is declar
lydiajulian1
Jan 164 min read
The heat is on...
In 1993, when tickets were somewhat affordable for the citizenry, I attended the Men’s Singles final at the Australian Open between Jim Courier and Stefan Edberg. Players and spectators took to Centre Court on a day when the temperature soared to 43 degrees in the shade. Today, the tournament’s heat policy would have seen the final played under a closed roof. Even before Tik Tok, American broadcasters showed images of eggs being fried on the baking court. It was no surprise
lydiajulian1
Jan 124 min read
If tennis can have rules, why not the world's countries?
Here’s the problem. No true democrat likes to see countries ravaged by the acts of dictators. Human rights and economies are inevitably destroyed. Will Zimbabwe ever truly recover after the excesses of Mugabe? Have either Russia or Germany emerged from the legacies of Stalin and Hitler? We know all too well what has been required to remove the world’s most evil leaders from countries. In the shadows of World War 2, and even further since the collapse of the Berlin Wall, the
lydiajulian1
Jan 65 min read
Another year passes: again, the sublime, ridiculous and tragic
With the flick of his wrist, John McEnroe, who it is ridiculous to think will be 67 in February, would often execute a sublime half-volley, when the ball seemed past him. Crowds would gasp in disbelief. The impossible was made easy. If only the same could be said of entering a new secular year. The closing of one calendar and the opening of another is remarkably easy. However, the intractable problems of one year inevitably follow us into the next, leaving us wondering whethe
lydiajulian1
Dec 31, 20254 min read
The year comes to an end, but the quandaries do not!
Is it too early to make concluding observations about 2025? The tennis world is in its Christmas/New Year hiatus with Australia set to be its focus when it reawakens throughout January. For most Australians, tennis has momentarily surrendered its attention to the joys and agonies of cricket and Formula One racing. Australia bestrides the cricketing world like a colossus against the visiting traditional bete noire English team. For cricket fans, an irresistible pun- so far t
lydiajulian1
Dec 10, 20255 min read
The rallies are over, let the reflections begin!
After the rallies at a Grand Slam tournament finish, the reckoning and reflection begin. Who won and why? What were the highlights,...
lydiajulian1
Jan 27, 20256 min read
Wildfires, Ceasefires(?), Wildcards and wild predictions and here comes Trump!
If only history did not relentlessly seem to recycle events and moments! Only days after President Carter’s State funeral, we are...
lydiajulian1
Jan 16, 20258 min read
The year opens and we await the Australian Open
If ever there was an example of humans rowing their metaphorical boats, “against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past”, it...
lydiajulian1
Jan 3, 20256 min read
Will Advent be advantageous?
Christians prepare for the celebration of Christmas during the season of Advent. In an increasingly secular Australia, the faithless...
lydiajulian1
Dec 12, 20245 min read
Is democracy in or out?
Before we know it the summer season of tennis will begin in Australia. Both Djokovic and Kyrgios, along with the World’s No.1 female...
lydiajulian1
Dec 5, 20245 min read
A new world order? Sadly, maybe only in tennis!
Tonight on Australia’s national broadcasting network the programme, Nemesis, premiered. It is a documentary which will chronicle the...
lydiajulian1
Jan 29, 20245 min read
Davis Cup form is good form as Djokovic is denied!
Reluctant as I am to use contemporary expressions that may not be understood by all, may I begin by offering the following ‘spoiler...
lydiajulian1
Jan 27, 20247 min read
The seeds have been drawn and now 'quartered'- what happens next at the Australian Open?
The Australian Open has six days to run and the openings for Australian success have closed in the Men’s and Women’s draws. Yesterday’s ...
lydiajulian1
Jan 22, 20246 min read
Let another Grand Slam year commence!
Isn’t it remarkable that, notwithstanding all that has come before, the stroke of midnight on New Year’s Eve generates a collective...
lydiajulian1
Jan 9, 20248 min read
For every action there are legacies
For my sins, but with constant delight, I have taught Australian students for over 30 years about the structures and processes of its...
lydiajulian1
Dec 2, 20236 min read
Comings, goings and those that keep going
As one year ends and another-secular or lunar- begins, it is customary to reflect on those who have departed in the previous twelve...
lydiajulian1
Jan 30, 202310 min read
Destiny, destiny- who is to know?
As a new year beckons, it is inevitable that individuals and societies consider what their destiny may be in the months ahead....
lydiajulian1
Dec 29, 20227 min read
The Greatest Open-Australian-of all Time?
“Where there is discord, may we bring harmony”. So said Margaret Thatcher, quoting St. Francis of Assisi, upon entering No. 10 Downing...
lydiajulian1
Feb 2, 20229 min read
Guess who's coming to the tennis?
The question is, would the character played by the much loved and recently departed Sidney Poitier in his 1963 movie be more welcome to...
lydiajulian1
Jan 12, 20226 min read
Djokovic v the World: no vaccination, a contested exemption, a denied visa and a court appeal!
It just keep’s happening! A new year and the overlap of politics, world affairs and Grand Slam tennis continues. One of my holiday reads...
lydiajulian1
Jan 6, 20225 min read
Tremors!
It says something about the potent ubiquity of Covid-19 that it continues for most to be the only topic in town as we begin the third...
lydiajulian1
Jan 1, 20226 min read
Melbourne's Grand Slam closes , but controversies remain open
Perhaps more than ever this year’s Australian Open confirmed how Grand Slam tennis is often an unwitting barometer of the political and...
lydiajulian1
Feb 28, 202111 min read
Australian Open champions set to be unmasked, like the rest of us!
In 1988 when the Australian Open was played for the first time at its new venue, then called Flinders Park, history was made when mid-way...
lydiajulian1
Feb 15, 20217 min read
An Open and shut case?
Tomorrow, competition at the Australian Open is set to commence. The gates will be open, but even after the first ball is struck there...
lydiajulian1
Feb 7, 20218 min read
A fortnight to go, but what to celebrate before then?
Tomorrow, January 26th, Australia and India have national days of celebration. For India it is their Republic Day, which commemorates...
lydiajulian1
Jan 25, 20219 min read
"It's all in the optics"
Many a reader has wondered about my linking of the world of politics to Grand Slam tennis. Well, more often than not, there are many...
lydiajulian1
Jan 19, 202111 min read
Aus Open 2020
Impeachment trials; US-China Trade agreements; a booming and then faltering Australian stock market; so much to consider.
Julian Dowse
Feb 7, 202016 min read
Aus Open 2019: The Next Generation cometh - well maybe for the women, but not yet for the men
Last year, an engaging Australian film, Ladies in Black, was released. Set in Sydney in 1959 it is a ‘coming of age’ story of a young girl.
Julian Dowse
Jan 30, 201920 min read
Australian Open 2018: 20 to 1
Last year’s Australian Open was a lavish, almost excessive, serving of history, drama and entertainment. The tennis was clearly worth coming
Julian Dowse
Feb 12, 201820 min read
Australian Open 2017-The stars shine!
How wonderful it is to be proved wrong for all the right reasons! After last year’s US Open I made the “somewhat risky and provocative”...
lydiajulian1
Feb 3, 201719 min read
Australian Open 2016
I type as the field gathers for the Lightning Stakes at Flemington. A Group One race for the best equine sprinters in the land.
Julian Dowse
Feb 20, 201620 min read
bottom of page