Australian Open
The Australian Open, which was originally known as the Australian Tennis Championship, first was held at the Warehouseman's Cricket Ground in St Kilda Road, Melbourne, in 1905. The organisation, Tennis Australia, originally put together the Australian Championship. The Aussie Open added on the women’s singles tournament after the First World War, in 1927. The location of the Australian Open changed constantly throughout the next forty five years. In 1969 the event took on the official name, the Australian Open.
In 1972, it was decided that the Australian Open was worthy of a permanent home, so they decided to make its home in Melbourne. Flinders Park hosted the Australian Open for the first time in 1988. The champions of the Australian Open in the 80’s include European players in the men's event: Ivan Lendl, Mats Wilander and Stefan Edberg. In 1996 Flinders Park was remodelled, expanded and renamed Melbourne Park. In 2000 the centre court was christened The Rod Laver Arena in honour of Australia's tennis hero. The Australian Open is growing to be more and more a definitive event where tennis players have the opportunity to prove to the world that they are the best.