All the thrills and excitement that have become the trademarks of the tennis world begin each January with the Australian Open. The year’s first Grand Slam event now draws the world’s premier men and women players while filling the two stadiums with exuberant fans from around the globe. In 2008, The Australian Open established a single day/night Grand Slam attendance record with 62,885 enthusiasts filing through the gates.

The Australian Open is now administered by Tennis Australia and is hosted by the city of Melbourne. All tournament play takes place at either the Rod Laver Arena, inaugurated in 2000, or the equally impressive Hisense Arena. Both tennis stadiums have retractable roofs to protect players from rain or extreme heat, which has often complicated the tournament schedule.

In 2008, Tennis Australia completed installation of the state-of-the-art Plexicushion acrylic surface at its two Melbourne facilities. This surface is deemed to be the most consistent surface on the professional tennis tour. The acrylic court surface has a super thin top layer and as such retains less heat than traditional surfaces. As the Australian Open takes place in the midst of the Australian Summer, extreme heat has forced cancellation of events in the past. The new Plexicushion surface has been a welcome addition for the touring professionals. Players and fans alike now flock to Melbourne to enthusiastically support the first of the four annual Grand Slam tennis events.

A historical look at the Australian Open reveals this was not always the case. In fact, the evolution of the Australian Open parallels the popularity surge in international tennis events.

The original tournament was called the Australasian Tennis Championship and was held in 1905. The event was held at Warehouseman’s Cricket Ground on St. Kilda Road in Melbourne and was organized by the Lawn Tennis Association of Australia, which has since been re-organized and is now called Tennis Australia. The Australasian Tennis Championship was originally a men’s championship and remained as such until 1922, when the women’s singles event was added. In 1927, the Australasian Tennis Championship was renamed the Australian Championship. Finally, in 1969, the tournament structure was again changed and the event was renamed The Australian Open.

Since its inception, the tournament has been held in five different cities. The Open has been held 50 times in Melbourne, but has also been hosted by Sydney, Adelaide, Brisbane, Perth, New Zealand, Christchurch and Hastings. Tournament play was suspended during World War I.

In 1972, the tournament was permanently moved to Melbourne. The Kooyong Lawn Tennis Club hosted the event until its relocation to Melbourne Park in 1988. Immediately attendance surged, with ticket sales increasing by 140,000 with total attendance exceeding 260,000.

Due to travel difficulties, the early tournaments had limited participation. Originally, the Australasian tournament conflicted with other Australian and New Zealander events. The Championship of the Colony of Victoria had been held in Melbourne since 1880. Traditionally, this tournament, which later became known as the Championship of Victoria, featured the champions from New Zealand and Australia.

The most famous Australian player of the age was Norman Brookes who won the Australasian Tournament in 1911. Brookes was such an inspirational player that the Australian Open trophy is named the Norman Brookes Challenge Cup. Unfortunately, his accomplishments were so successful that he rarely played in his home country. Famed New Zealand champion and Brookes rival, Anthony Wilding, won the Australasian title 1906 and 1909. Wilding’s win in 1906 was over an extremely limited field of 10 participants.

In the early years, the tournament dates varied. Most often the event was held in December. After experimenting with many possibilities, the decision was made in 1987 to hold the tournament in mid January.

Technically, the first Australian Open was held in 1969 on Brisbane’s Milton Courts. This event marked the first time play was open to all amateur and professional players. Due to conflicts with the Christmas and New Year’s holidays, the demanding travel requirements and the lower than standard tournament purses, many of the world’s top players chose not to compete.

When the Australian Open was moved to Flanders Park with its popular Rebound Ace surface in 1988, the game’s major professional players responded to the improvements. Rising attendance led to increased guarantees and the stabilization of the location and tournament dates made the tournament a more favorable fit for the touring professionals.

The Australian Open astounded the tennis world in 2007 with the implementation of new line calling technology. The Hawk-eye line calling program was used to supplement traditional on-court umpire and referee line calling procedures. Originally received with some skepticism, this refined and improved replay system is now the standard for the professional tour.

The 2008 tournament was won by the Serbian player, Novak Djokovic, who upset the world’s top player and three-time Australian Open champion Roger Federer in the semi-finals on way to a stirring victory over France’s Jo-Wilfred Tsonga. The women’s draw was won by the popular Maria Sharapova, who defeated Ana Ivanovic in straight sets, 7-5, 6-3.

The evolution of the Australian Open now finds the tennis world’s most notable male and female players anxious to battle for the cup. Historically, the Open’s most dominant male player is undoubtedly Andre Agassi, who has claimed the Norman Brookes Challenge Cup a record four times. Since the mid 1990’s American players have dominated the women’s draw. With upsets galore throughout the 2008 tennis season, the 2009 Australian Open promises to be a spirited and rigorous event, just as its founders envisioned it 104 years ago.