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Australian Open History

The Australian Open Tournament was first held in 1905, at the time only open to male players. Women first played at the Australian Open in 1922.



The first men's singles winner was Rodney Heath, and the first women's singles winner was Mall Molesworth. See the complete list of winners for each year of the tournament.

In 1969 the tournament changed from an amateur to an Open Championship.

Two tournaments were held in the year 1977, when changing from being a December event to a January event. The first event in the year was in January, the second in December. Only ten years later, in 1987, the tournament moved back to January, so no championship was decided for 1986.

Rafael NadalRafael Nadal won the Australian Open in 2009

Up until 1988, the tournament was played on grass, then a green-coloured Rebound Ace surface was used up to 2007.

In 2007, the Hawkeye Line Calling System was first officially used for matches.

In 2021, the tournament was delayed until February 8, due to the coronavirus pandemic requirement of two-weeks quarantine in Melbourne.



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