The Australian Open begins the season of tennis championship tours and is the first on the agenda of the Grand Slam series. These are the main four tournaments, also known as the Majors, and they occur from January through October. The Australian Open takes place at the Melbourne Park. This annual Grand Slam event was first established in 1905 and at the time took place on grass courts. This was the standard until 1988 when the court floor was replaced by a hard surface, which is now the standard. The Wimbledon schedule just outside of London is the only Majors tournament to continue to be held on a lawn court.

The Australian Open takes place in January and the two main courts that are used for its competitions are the Rod Laver Arena and Hisense Area. Both of these feature state of the art elements and include retractable roofs that can be open or closed depending on weather circumstances. This is an important because January happens to be in the middle of the Australian summer and temperatures can reach extreme highs and the humidity can be painful. In addition, the Open is one of the most popular events in the city of Melbourne and public safety concerns in such extreme weather are a priority. As of course, is the well being of the tennis players.

The 2010 tournament saw Roger Federer win the men’s singles event and take home his 16th Grand Slam title. He beat out Andy Murray in a contest for the title. The women’s event fell to Serena Williams who is the current reigning World NO 1 female player. The American Williams defeated Justine Henin of Belgium for the title. The US team Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan won the men’s doubles. finals event and the American sister team Serena and Venus Williams won the women’s doubles. The men’s team beat Daniel Nestor and Nenad Zimoniic, while the women defeated Cara Black and Liezel Huber. Plans for the 2011 tournament are well underway and it is scheduled to begin on January 17th of next year.