The Australian Open holds the record for the highest attendance of any tennis tournament ever staged with 812,174 people attending the 2020 edition. And here are some more quick fun facts:

1. Novak Djokovic holds the record for the most Men’s Singles titles with 10 wins
2. Margaret Court holds the record for the most Women’s Singles Titles with 11 wins
3. The Australian Open was the last of the four majors opened to professionals in 1969
4. Out of the four Grand Slams, Melbourne Park (Australian Open Venue) is the only venue to have three stadium courts covered by a retractable roof
5. After winning both his Australian Open Singles titles Jim Courier jumped into the Yarra River for a swim
6. The Australian Open was a Grass Court Event until 1988
7. Every year the ball kids who work at the AO are made up of a small contingent of overseas ball kids – 20 from Korea, 6 from China, 10 from India and 2 from France
8. The Australian Open is shown live in more than 220 Countries and Territories around the world
9. The Australian Open stringers restring over 5000 racquets throughout the tournament using more than 60km’s of string
10. The highest single-day attendance at the Australian Open is 93,709 at the 2020 edition
11. Close to 50,000 Tennis Balls are used during the tournament
12. Since 1905 the Australian Open has been staged in January, March, August and December with the Ja middle of January start time being in place since 1977
13. Kia is the longest-running sponsor of the Australian Open beginning it’s deal in 2002 with the current deal set to expire in 2023
14. The revenue generated from the Australian Open is over $330million
15. The last Australian female to win the Women’s Singles Title at the Australian Open was Christine O’Neil in 1978
16. The last Australian male to win the Men’s Singles Title at the Australian Open was Mark Edmonson in 1976

I’m a little in getting this post done but better late than never. I’ve also not really followed the recently completed Australian Open, here are a few fun facts about the first leg of the Tennis Grand Slam that every tennis fan should know about:

Youngest of the Grand Slams : In tennis, there are four Grand Slam Games. Wimbledon (established in 1877), the US Open (1881) and the French Open (1891). The Australian Open started in 1905.

The first-ever match was played on a cricket field : When the Australian Open was first held, the very first game was held on a cricket field at the Warehouseman’s Cricket Ground. Today, the facility is known as the Albert Reserve Tennis Centre.

Ken Rosewall is the youngest and oldest player to win the championship : Ken Rosewall is a prominent name in the tennis world, with several Grand Slam singles titles, nine slams in doubles, and a career double grand slam. But he is also the youngest player to win the Australian Open at 18 years old in 1953 and the oldest at 35 in 1972. Meanwhile, in the women’s division, Martina Hingis is considered the youngest to win the tournament at 16 years old, and Thelma Coyne Long is the oldest at age 35.

Australian Summer Heat : The biggest challenge for players in the Australian Open is the Australian heat. The tournament is in January when summer in Australia is full of swing. And with summer comes the sweltering heat that can reach up to 40 degrees Celsius. Being out in the heat is hard, much more so if you’re playing tennis. That is why players are encouraged to use braided ice towels to keep cool in between sets. And in 1988, the Extreme Heat Policy was put in place wherein the referee could stop the game at any time if the temperature reached 40 degrees.

The longest Match is 5hrs and 53 minutes : Unlike sports like basketball or American football, tennis does not have a time limit. That is why matches can sometimes last for hours on end, and in the Australian Open, the longest game lasted for five hours. That game was between Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic during the final match at the Australian Open in 2012. Djokovic ended up defeating Nadal 7-5.

1977 and 1986 : The Australian Open has had its fair share of hiccups over its existence. One of which happened in 1977. Before, the games were from December to January. Following the games from December 1976 to January 1977, the organisers wanted the second tournament for that year to be held in December 1977. The drawback was that not a lot of players competed.

But if the tournament happened twice in 1977, it was not held at all in 1986. During the 80s, the games were held from the last week of November to the first week of December. That was the setup till 1985. After that year, the games have since been held in the middle of January, starting in 1987. And that was why there was no Australian Open in 1986.

Pioneering tennis coach and owner of his own academy Nick Bollettieri died on 4th December at the age of 91. He pioneered the concept of a tennis boarding school, and helped develop many leading tennis players during the past decades, including Andre Agassi, Jim Courier, Monica Seles, and Mary Pierce. He also worked with players such as Maria Sharapova, Daniela Hantuchová, Jelena Jankovi?, Nicole Vaidišová, Sabine Lisicki, Sara Errani, Tommy Haas, Max Mirnyi, Xavier Malisse, Venus Williams, Serena Williams, Martina Hingis, Anna Kournikova, Marcelo Ríos, and Kei Nishikori. Bollettieri was also a tour traveling coach, the last time having been for and with Boris Becker for a span of two years.

Bollettieri never set out to revolutionise the way tennis was coached, let alone become world famous. But over the course of the past six decades, the charismatic former American football player-turned paratrooper, who has passed away aged 91, never stopped learning about the sport. Be it from his time in Coral Gables and onto Victory Park in North Miami Beach; from Synder Park in Springfield, Ohio, the Port Washington Tennis Academy to the Dorado Beach Resort in Puerto Rico and Beaver Dam, Wisconsin; then The Colony Beach & Tennis Resort, located in Sarasota, and onto an old tomato field in Bradenton, Florida, his home of the past 40 years.

Born in Pelham, New York, to immigrant Italian parents, he served with the United States Army, attaining the rank of First Lieutenant.  In 1956 he turned to teaching tennis after dropping out of the University of Miami Law School. Bollettieri’s first students included Brian Gottfried. His first formal tennis camp was at Wayland Academy in Beaver Dam, Wisconsin. Bollettieri married Cindi Eaton on April 22, 2004. The same year, they founded Camp Kaizen, a nonprofit fitness camp.

Most Singles Finals :Bill Tilden and Molla Bjurstedt Mallory each featured in 10 U.S Singles finals. Tilden played in the finals between 1918-1929 while Mallory reached the finals between 1915-1924 and in 1926. Pete Sampras with eight and Chris Evert with nine hold the records for the open era or what is now known as the current period of professional tennis dating back to 1968.

Most Singles Tournaments : But the honour of playing in the most Singles tournament belongs to Vic Seixas Jr. for the men and Martina Navratilova for women. Seixas Jr. played in 28 US opens while Navratilova featured in 21 consecutive U.S. Open between 1973-1993.

Most Singles Titles Won : Bill Tilden, Bill Larned and Richard Sears each won seven titles in the pre-open era. But it’s Jimmy Connors, Roger Federer and Pete Sampras who have dominated in the open era with five titles each. Molla Bjurstedt Mallory was not only a common feature in the finals. The Norwegian-American player won a record eight women’s singles titles between 1915-18, 1920-22 and in 1926. In the pro era it is Chris Evert and Serena Williams who are the most decorated female players with six titles each.

Most Titles Won : In the pre-open era, Margaret Osbourne du Point with three singles titles, 13 doubles and nine mixed doubles tops the list. Navratilova ranks top with 16 U.S Open titles in the open era. Out of that four are singles, nine doubles and three mixed doubles.

Most Single Matches Won : Americans Connors and Evert hold the records for the most single matches won. Evert won 101 women’s singles match at the American major event. Connors won 98 U.S Open men’s matches on all three courts of the U.S Open between 1970-1992.

Youngest Singles Titles Winners : Aged 16 years and 8 months, American Tracy Austin became the youngest ever winner at the U.S Open in 1979. Sampras won the men’s title for the first time in 1990 which made him the youngest ever men’s champions at 19 years and 28 days.

Oldest Singles Titles Winners : Molla Bjurstedt Mallory last victory at the U.S. open in 1926 made her the oldest champion at 42 years and five months. Before her William Larned had won the men’s 1911 U.S. Championship when he was 38 years and 8 months.

Unseeded Champions :The 2021 women’s singles winner Emma Raducanu is not just in the list of unseeded champions, she’s the only qualifier to win a major title. Belgium’s Kim Clijsters (2009) and Sloane Stephens (2017) are the only two other players to have lifted the trophy after coming in as unseeded players.

Longest Doubles Partnership : The long-time doubles partnership of Louise Brough and Margaret du Pont produced 12 titles between 1940 and 1957. The identical twin brothers of Bob and Mike Bryan are the most successful pair at the U.S open having won five men’s doubles titles.

Longest Match : The over five-hour men’s semi-final match in 1992 is the longest match in U.S. Open history. Stefan Edberg of Sweden overcame American Michael Chang in a gruelling five hour, and 26 minutes match in 6–7, 7–5, 7–6, 5–7, 6–4.

It’s the Only Major Tournament Played on 3 Surfaces

Although the US Open is famous for its hard courts, it still remains as the only major tennis tournament to be played on three surfaces. The tourney started out on grass courts in 1881 at Newport Casino in Rhode Island. It then transitioned to clay courts from 1975 to 1977, before finally moving to the acrylic hard courts fans and players know today.

Fun fact: Jimmy Connors is the only player to have won singles titles on all three surfaces, while Chris Evert is the only woman to have won singles titles on two surfaces.

It Was the First Grand Slam Tournament to Award Men & Women Equal Prize Money

This historic moment came about after tennis great and equality activist Billie Jean King, along with 8 other female players, formed their own tour in 1970 in protest of the pay disparity. King then successfully lobbied for equal prize money for US Open female players, which was brought into effect in 1973.

It’s Offering Record Prize Money in 2022

It’s highly unlikely you’ll find another tournament that offers as much prize money as the US Open. In 2021, the tournament gave out a record $57.5 million in total prize money, and the USTA announced this year that the US Open was set to hand out more than $60 million for the 2022 edition – breaking yet another record. The singles winners will take home $2.6 million, while the doubles champs will have a $688,000 payday. Who do you think will be pocketing the prize money this year?

More Facts:

Arthur Ashe won the first US Open as an amateur and the main stadium at the Billie Jean King USTA Tennis center is named after him.  Virginia Wade won the women’s title.

Arthur Ashe stadium, named after the winner of the 1968 inaugural US Open, is the largest tennis-specific stadium in the world, with seating for 23,771 people. That’s more than 8,000 seats bigger than any other stadium in the sport. It debuted in 1997 and cost $254 million to construct.

In 1970, the US Open became the first Grand Slam to use a tiebreak, and until last year it remained the only one of the four slams to play a deciding-set tiebreak. Wimbledon and the Australian Open this year followed suit.

Jimmy Connors, Pete Sampras and Roger Federer are tied for the most US Open men’s singles titles in the Open Era with five each. Tying for the most women’s singles titles are Chrissie Evert and Serena Williams each with six.

Elena Rybakina has won the women’s title at Wimbledon by beating Ons Jabeur 3-6, 6-2, 6-2. Rybakina is the first player representing Kazakhstan to win a Grand Slam singles title. She was born in Russia but switched nationalities in 2018. The 17th-seeded Rybakina dropped only two sets in her seven victories at the All England Club. Rybakina, who turned 23 last month, is the youngest woman to win the Wimbledon title since a 21-year-old Petra Kvitova in 2011.  Both competing in the biggest match of their lives, the first Grand Slam final appearance for them and their respective countries, the strange match reflected their lack of experience in this moment and showed in the final tally.

Rybakina lost her serve early in the first set as Jabeur took a 3-1 lead and went on to a dominant 6-3 win. Jabeur is the first female player from the Arab world to reach this stage in a Grand Slam competition and though she started well, Rybakina was too good for her on Saturday. Rybakina found her rhythm in the second set and dominated the match thereafter, negating Jabeur’s dogged style of play that involves mixing powerful groundstrokes with well-disguised drop shots, with big serves and brilliant net play. The 23-year-old Moscow-born Rybakina broke Jabeur early in the second set, and then got the better of her rival’s serve once again to take the match into a decider.

THE FASTEST SERVE WAS 240 KPH

When we think of great servers, our minds are drawn to stars like Federer, Roddick and Pete Sampras, but the fastest serve recorded at Wimbledon was actually achieved by American Taylor Dent. In a 2010 match, Dent served a 240 kmph rocket to Novak Djokovic. Earlier that year, Dent also set a record at Roland Garros – he wasn’t a household name, but Dent was a hard server and no slouch as a player, peaking at 21st in the rankings.

THE LONGEST SPONSORSHIP IN SPORTS HISTORY

Did you know that Wimbledon’s relationship with Slazenger is the longest in sports history? The British sporting company started supplying balls to the championship in 1902 and hasn’t stopped since.

THE YOUNGEST WINNER? JUST 15 YEARS OLD!

In 1887, Charlotte Dod won the championship at just 15 years old, and went on to retain her title for five years in a row, before losing it at the ripe old age of twenty. Charlotte wasn’t just a tennis star – in addition to her Wimbledon exploits, she won a silver in archery at the 1908 Olympics, won the British Amateur Golf Championship in 1904 and competed with the national field hockey team.

On the men’s side, the youngest winner was German Boris Becker, who was just 17. Although he was older than Charlotte Dod, the feat may be even more impressive, as he won in 1985, competing against highly paid, well-trained professionals. Becker was also the first unseeded champ and the first German to win Wimbledon.

The Champions Climb To See Family In The Stands

Like strawberries and cream, the Queue and all-white outfits, the champion’s climb to the players’ box to celebrate his victory with his closed ones has become a tradition at Wimbledon. It all started with Pat Cash back in 1987. Since then, 14 players have scaled terraces to the players’ box to embrace their family and coaches. The most unexpected – and out of character – climb was probably Sampras‘ when he beat Pat Rafter in 2000 and broke Roy Emerson’s Grand Slam record.

Wimbledon Men’s Records

Winner of most Gentlemen’s Singles titles

(8) Roger Federer

Winner of most consecutive Gentlemen’s Singles titles

(6) William Renshaw

Winner of most Gentlemen’s Doubles titles

(9) Todd Woodbridge

Winner of most consecutive Gentlemen’s Doubles titles

(5) Reginald Doherty & Laurence Doherty,and Todd Woodbridge & Mark Woodforde

Winner of most Mixed Doubles titles

(4) Ken Fletcher & Vic Seixas, and Owen Davidson & Leander Paes

Winner of most Championships (total: singles, doubles, mixed)

(13) Laurence Doherty

Women’s Records at Wimbledon

Winner of most Ladies’ Singles titles

(9) Martina Navratilova

Winner of most consecutive Ladies’ Singles titles

(6) Martina Navratilova

Winner of most Ladies’ Doubles titles

(12) Elizabeth Ryan

Winner of most consecutive Ladies’ Doubles titles

(4) Martina Navratilova, Pam Shriver, and Natasha Zvereva

Winner of most Mixed Doubles titles

(7) Elizabeth Ryan

Winner of most Championships (total: singles, doubles, mixed)

(20) Martina Navratilova, Billie Jean King

1) Wimbledon is the oldest tennis tournament in the world. The first Wimbledon championship took place in 1877. Men’s Singles was the only event played that year. Ladies’ Singles and Men’s Doubles events were introduced in 1884. The Ladies’ Doubles and Mixed Doubles events were added to the tournament in 1913.

2) Matches can last forever. The longest match ever played at Wimbledon took place at the 2010 tournament. John Isner of the United States defeated French player Nicolas Mahut in a match that lasted 11 hours and five minutes and was played over the course of three days.

3) The winners of Wimbledon do not get to keep their trophy. They remain on display at the All England Club’s museum and the winners go home with a small replica of the trophy.

4) The record number of Wimbledon Singles wins is held by a woman. At the time of this article, the record for the most Wimbledon titles in Ladies’ Singles belongs to retired Czech and American player Martina Navratilova with nine victories. In Men’s Singles, the record for most titles is shared by William Renshaw, Pete Sampras, and Roger Federer, who each won the event seven times.

5) 250 people are tasked with keeping track of the balls. About 250 ball boys and girls – known as BBGs – are hired and undergo intensive training to keep track of all those fast-moving tennis balls.

6) 54,250 tennis balls are used during the tournament. The balls are replaced after every seven to nine games to make sure they’re in perfect shape throughout the match. Those not in use are stored in a refrigerated container to keep them in tip-top condition.

7) Wimbledon rules state that all players must be dressed almost entirely in white. Umpires can ask a player to change if they don’t meet the dress code. For instance, in 2013, Wimbledon champ Roger Federer was told to switch his shoes for his next match because they had orange soles.

8) Wimbledon is the only Grand Slam event played on grass courts. The grass is tended to year-round. During the event, it’s cut to an exact height of 8mm.

9) Strawberries and cream is as essential as a tennis racket. In 2017, 23 tonnes of strawberries and 7,000 litres of fresh cream were served to visitors. If you were to lay these berries in a line, they’d stretch almost 37 miles end-to-end.

10) Wimbledon is the largest single annual sporting catering operation in Europe: serving 234,000 meals, 330,000 cups of tea and coffee, 140,000 portions of English strawberries, 10,000 litres of dairy cream and 29,000 bottles of champagne, among other things.

1. The first French Open was played in 1891 and was originally played on sand. For the first six years it was only open to men, women weren’t allowed to take part until 1897. What is now called the Stade Roland Garros was constructed in 1928 to host France’s first defense of the Davis Cup.

2. The Stade Roland Garros in Paris where the French Open is played is named after Eugène Adrien Roland Georges Garros, a World War I pilot and pioneering French aviator who completed the first solo flight across the Mediterranean Sea. Tiny yet unique, it is the smallest venue compared to the other three majors. The area is way lesser than half of the area of Australian open, Wimbledon and US open.

3. The ‘clay’ surface isn’t actually clay – the courts are surfaced with white limestone covered with powdered red brick dust, which gives the courts their ochre colour. It is the only Grand Slam event that is played on a red surface. An estimated 44,000kg of crushed red brick are used each year.

4. The Stade Roland Garros is a 21-acre complex boasting 20 courts. Built in 1928, Court Philippe Chatrier is the centrepiece and seats over 15,000 spectators. The other show court is named after French tennis player Suzanne Lenglen, one of the biggest tennis stars of the 1920s. The project to add a retractable roof to Court Philippe Chatrier was completed in February 2020. The roof is made up of 11 trusses, each weighing 330 metric tons, which took two years to manufacture and eight months to assemble.

5. The prize for winning the men’s singles event is the Coupe des Mousquetaires (the Musketeers’ Cup) – it refers to the legendary French tennis stars who reigned over the tournament until 1933 and were known as the Four Musketeers: Jean Borotra, René Lacoste, Jacques Brugnon and Henri Cochet.

6. The Coupe des Mousquetaires remains in the stadium – the winner is given a smaller replica to take home. The trophy is so precious, it has its own special trunk that was created by Louis Vuitton.

7. Non-French tennis club members were only allowed to enter the tournament in 1925, when it became the ‘French Open’. Before then it was only open to members of French tennis clubs. However, only two French nationals have lifted the most prestigious singles trophy at the Roland Garros in the Open Era. Yannick Noah won the men’s title in the year 1983 and Mary Pierce was the last French national to win the women’s singles title in 2000.

8. The French Open has been held every year in Paris since 1891, except from 1939-1945 when it was cancelled because of World War II. The 2020 edition of the tournament, which was the first to be assisted by the roof over Philippe-Chatrier, was postponed to late September and early October and was played in front of limited spectators, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.