How Many Players In Australian Open Tennis?

How many players are in the Australian Open Tennis? This is a question that we often get asked, so we decided to do a blog post on it!

Introduction

The Australian Open is a tennis tournament held annually over the last fortnight of January in Melbourne, Australia. The tournament is the first of the four Grand Slam tennis events held each year, preceding the French Open, Wimbledon, and the US Open.

History

The first Australian Open was played in 1905 at the Warehouseman’s Cricket Ground in Melbourne. The tournament was originally known as the Australasian Championships and then became the Australian Championships in 1927 and the Australian Open in 1969.

Since 1988, the event has been held at Melbourne Park. The complex includes Rod Laver Arena, Hisense Arena, Margaret Court Arena and several smaller courts. The number of players has increased dramatically over the years. In 1972, there were 96 men and 24 women entered in the singles events. As of 2020, there are 128 men and 128 women entered in the singles events.

Some of the great players who have won the Australian Open include Rod Laver (1969), Novak Djokovic (2020), Serena Williams (2003, 2005, 2007, 2009, 2010, 2015, 2017) and Naomi Osaka (2019).

Format

The Australian Open is a tennis tournament held annually over the last fortnight of January in Melbourne, Australia. The tournament is the first of the four Grand Slam tennis events held each year, preceding the French Open, Wimbledon, and the US Open. It features singles, doubles, and mixed doubles play. Junior and wheelchair players also compete in singles and doubles events.

Eligibility

To be eligible to compete in the Australian Open, players must have been born on or after 1 January 1997. There are 128 singles positions (64 men’s and 64 women’s) and 32 doubles positions (16 men’s, 16 women’s) available each year.

Main Draw

The main draw of the Australian Open is made up of 128 players, with 64 of them being seeded. The other 64 players come through qualifying, which is played over three rounds leading up to the main event.

Qualifying

In order to be able to compete in the Australian Open, all players must first go through a qualifying tournament. This is held in the week before the main event and features both men’s and women’s singles. A total of 128 players compete in the qualifying tournament, with 32 coming through to the main event.

Wildcards

There are a total of 256 players in the Australian Open tennis tournament – 128 men and 128 women. Of those 256 players, 32 are given wildcard entries into the main draw.

There are 4 types of wildcards that can be awarded:

-The Men’s and Women’s Wildcards are awarded to 4 Australian players each.
-The International Wildcards are awarded to 8 international players (4 men and 4 women). These are typically players who have performed well in qualifying tournaments or lower-level events leading up to the Australian Open.
-The final type of wildcard is the Discretionary Wildcard, which can be awarded to any player, regardless of nationality. This is typically used to award a spot to a promising young player or a popular veteran who may not have been able to accumulate enough ranking points to earn direct entry into the main draw.

As of 2019, the prize money for the Australian Open is AUD$60 million (US$42 million), making it the richest tennis tournament in the world.

Withdrawals

Withdrawals are taken into account when the rankings are released, but they do not have any effect on a player’s seeding. If a seeded player withdraws before the tournament starts, they are replaced in the draw by another player.

The following players withdrew from the Australian Open:
Player1 (Withdrew before the tournament started)
Player2 (Withdrew during the first round)
Player3 (Withdrew during the second round)
Player4 (Withdrew during the third round)

Prize Money

The total prize money for the 2019 Australian Open is AUD$60.5 million, up from AUD$58 million in 2018. The rise comes as part of a new five-year deal with the governing body of tennis, the International Tennis Federation (ITF), which will see prize money at all four Grand Slams increase by 10% between 2019 and 2023. As a result, the winner of this year’s men’s singles tournament will take home AUD$4.1 million (up from AUD$3.7 million in 2018), while the women’s singles champion will earn AUD$3.8 million (up from AUD$3.5 million).

Media Coverage

Media coverage of the tournament is widespread. The tournament is broadcast in more than 200 countries, with a total global audience of over one billion people. In Australia, the tournament is broadcast on Channel 7 and Fox Sports. In the United States, the tournament is broadcast on ESPN. In the United Kingdom, the tournament is broadcast on BBC Sport.

See Also

See Also:
-How Many Players In French Open Tennis?
-How Many Players In Wimbledon Tennis?