The Grandest of Slams?

Last week saw us touch down in Melbourne - our arrival coinciding with the start of the 2026 Australian Open. I won’t profess to be a huge tennis fan but as a massive sports aficionado in general, the promise of catching some Grand Slam action proved impossible to resist. Tennis for me sits somewhere in the purgatory of my sporting imagination, a solid mid table contender, nothing more nothing less. Borg wearing Fila, McEnroe admonishing umpires and Federer gliding across pristinely cut lawns being the type of game I yearn for - tiresome grunting, overbearing coaches and preening celebs the unfortunate de rigeur. That being said I woke up on Sunday with a real spring in my step.

Miraculously for an occasion of such magnitude we managed to park (for free) within a fifteen minute walk of Melbourne Park and its incredible complex of arenas, restaurants and outlets. The sun, which 24hrs earlier had seen us shelter from its furnace like rays (and enforced the cancellation of certain games) was once again in attendance, though thankfully for both players and spectators at a much more manageable level. A promising start. ‘Ground Pass’ tickets (£35) which had been purchased the evening before gave us access to almost everything but the Rod Laver and Margaret Court Arena’s. These two impressive stadiums host the days most intriguing match ups and are where you’ll catch a glimpse of both legends and rising stars. Tickets for these matches are a little more expensive but still provide incredible value - particularly in the earlier rounds.

The Aussie’s seem to have cracked the code when it comes to keeping their major events accessible, providing a positive blueprint for affordable yet top class sporting action. Here enthusiastic consumers are treated as fans - not as discardable commodities, a refreshing change from the bloodsucking nature of UK sport. A prime example of this was seen shortly after we entered the grounds. Victoria in the peak of summer is hot, hence the reason that sun cream and water are necessities. Here both were supplied in abundance - not only that were completely free. Would this outpouring of charity be reciprocated at Wimbledon? I’m not so sure.

There genuinely was something for everyone here. Ardent tennis fans flitted from court to court, taking in mixed doubles, practice sessions and wheelchair games, youngsters scurried between interactive tennis themed activities and ice cream vans and groups of champagne totting teens kicked back in deckchairs, cheering every Alcaraz forehand. Vendors from Melbourne’s thriving food scene took pride of place courtside, bringing a decidedly local flavour to the days proceedings, whilst fashion was shipped Pan Pacific, courtesy of New York prep kings Ralph Lauren.

There’s been murmurs of discontent regarding the large queues for refreshments and apparent difficulty accessing some of the larger outer courts, though on reflection neither of these caused us much difficulty and that was with a baby in toe. There’s not that air of pomposity here, everyone is welcome to come and enjoy their day as they see fit. It’s little then wonder that the crowds continue to flock to what used to be seen as tennis’s most unfashionable slam, and as Novak Djokovic quite rightly put it when quizzed on the topic earlier in the week, ‘it’s a very good problem to have’.