Australian Open officials will be thrilled after nearly 30,000 tennis fans showed up to watch the qualifiers at Melbourne Park in a huge win for the home grand slam. The Australian Open has been growing from strength to strength in recent years with the ‘Happy Slam’ a favourite amongst players and fans.
And it went to another level on the weekend with reporters flabbergasted at just how many people were in attendance for qualifying a week out from the main card. Tennis reporter Connor Joyce was at the ground for the opening day on Monday and admitted he has never seen the ground so busy for qualification.
Nearly 30,000 tennis fans showed up to watch the first day of qualifiers at the Australian Open. (Images: Rob Koenig/Getty Images)
The opening day of tennis saw 29,261 people pass through the gates, which beat the previous record of 7,543. This comes after a number of Australians were playing for their opportunity to qualify for the main draw.
Australian Open boss Craig Tiley said he wanted tennis to own January with red-ball cricket finished for the summer. And he was thrilled with the participation from fans on Monday. “It doesn’t feel like it’s the first day of qualifiers, it feels in many ways like it’s the first day of the event,” Tiley said. “But this is the first day of 21 days of activity, entertainment, sport.”
The numbers are incredible considering it was free to attend qualification back in 2022. Now ground passes go for around $20. The attendance would have been boosted with the ‘Kids go Free’ promotion for opening day.
Fans would have been also excited to see a number of Australians in action. Dane Sweeney defeated No.26 seed Andrea Pellegrino in a huge upset on opening day. Bernard Tomic was also in action and managed to get his campaign off to a brilliant start having won his first match 6-3 6-3.
Olivia Gadecki also won her first match and moved a step closer to qualifying for the main card. Tennis fans were blown away by the attendance on Monday, which bodes well for Australian Open officials ahead of this weekend’s main card.
Bernard Tomic keen for Australian Open return
There were plenty of fans at Tomic’s qualifying event, which worked in his favour on Monday. And Tomic admitted it didn’t feel like the typical qualifying match with fans packing out the arena.
“I was a little bit nervous as well at the start; I haven’t played many big matches in the last year,” Tomic said. “The atmosphere was incredible, it was really good to be out there.
“The Aussie fans have always been there, it’s always been great. It felt special. So I’m happy I’m back winning – I think it’s my first match I’ve won in a while here in quallies or main. So for me it’s really good, so let’s see if I can win another couple, that would be nice. It’s something that has been my goal – to qualify at a slam again, to have a bit of a run at a grand slam.”
Tomic now plays Arthur Fery who defeated Australian wildcard Edward Winter. Tomic is hoping to play in his first Australian Open main draw since 2021.