HISTORY OF THE AUSTRALIAN OPEN TENNIS CHAMPIONSHIP
The Australian Open Tennis Championship, one of the 4 tennis grand slam events, was first played in Melbourne in 1905. At it's inception it was originally called the Australasian Championships. Five thousand people attended the first final.
In 1922 , the womens' singles event was added.
It became an open tournament in 1969 and was renamed the Australian Open.
Until 1972 the tournament was rotated amongst several Australian cities. And, the tournament was actually held in New Zealand in 1906 and 1912. In 1972, the tournament was moved permanently to Melbourne.
In 1977 2 tournaments were held - one in January and a second one in December.
No tournament was held in 1986 as the tournament was moved back to January and was held in January, 1987.
Roy Emerson, an Australian, won the men's singles title 6 times -more than any other man. Margaret Smith Court, another Australian, holds the record for most singles titles by a woman with 11. Interestingly, one of the greatest tennis players of all time - Bjorn Borg- never competed in the Australian Open.
The youngest and oldest winner of the mens title is the same man - Ken "muscles" Rosewall , the diminutive but deadly Australian legend. Rosewall won at the age of 18 in 1953 and at the age of 37 in 1972.
The youngest winner on the female side was Martina Hingis at the age of 16 in 1997.
One of the unusual features of the Australian Open facility in recent years is the retractable roof which allows for play during any weather conditions. This is the only retractable roof on the tennis Grand Slam circuit which includes the Australian Open, the French Open, Wimbledon, and the US Open.
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