Episode 2452
Australian Open
Fri, 2024-Jan-19 02:52 UTC
Length - 2:51
Direct Link
Welcome to popular Wiki of the Day where we read the summary of a popular Wikipedia page every day.
With 174,914 views on Thursday, 18 January 2024 our article of the day is Australian Open.
The Australian Open is a tennis tournament held annually at Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Victoria, 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. The Australian Open starts in the middle of January and continues for two weeks coinciding with the Australia Day holiday. It features men's and women's singles; men's, women's, and mixed doubles; junior's championships; and wheelchair, legends, and exhibition events. Until 1987, it was played on grass courts, but since then two types of hardcourt surfaces have been used: green-coloured Rebound Ace up to 2007 and blue Plexicushion since 2008. First held in 1905 as the Australasian championships, the Australian Open has grown to become one of the biggest sporting events in the Southern Hemisphere. Nicknamed "the happy slam", the Australian Open is the highest attended Grand Slam event, with more than 902,000 people attending the 2023 tournament. It was also the first Grand Slam tournament to feature indoor play during wet weather or extreme heat with its three primary courts, Rod Laver Arena, John Cain Arena and the refurbished Margaret Court Arena equipped with retractable roofs.
The Australian Open features men's and women's singles, men's and women's doubles, mixed doubles, and wheelchair competitions. It is played on hard courts and is known for its fast-paced and aggressive style of play. The tournament has a long history dating back to 1905 and has been held at the Melbourne Park complex since 1988. The Australian Open is a major contributor to the Victorian economy; the 2020 Australian Open injected $387.7 million into the state's economy, while over the preceding decade the Australian Open had contributed more than $2.71 billion in economic benefits to Victoria and generated 1775 jobs for the state, with these jobs being predominantly in the accommodation, hotels, cafés and trade services sectors.
This recording reflects the Wikipedia text as of 02:52 UTC on Friday, 19 January 2024.
For the full current version of the article, see Australian Open on Wikipedia.
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Until next time, I'm Justin Standard.
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