ASB Classic (Auckland Tennis Open): Dates, Tickets & Venue (Auckland)

The fortnight on Stanley Street

Auckland starts its tennis year early. The ASB Classic runs from January 4 to 16, 2027, at the Manuka Doctor Arena. The site sits in a dip on Stanley Street, where Parnell’s slopes run down towards the city’s eastern edge.

It is one of the first stops on the professional calendar. Players come straight off the off-season, many of them warming up for the Australian Open in Melbourne a short flight across the Tasman. That gives the event its particular feel: big names on a compact site, and stands close enough to hear the squeak of shoes on hard court.

Two tours, one centre court

This is where the Auckland event differs from most. It is a combined WTA and ATP tournament, and the two draws traditionally run one after the other rather than side by side. The women’s week comes first and the men take over the courts for the second week, so the fortnight splits into two distinct tournaments.

For 2027 the field features both defending champions:

• Elina Svitolina, the Ukrainian former world top-three player, returns as the women’s champion.
• Jakub Menšík, the young Czech who has climbed fast up the men’s rankings, returns as the men’s champion.

The changeover between weeks matters to visitors in Auckland for only part of the fortnight. The dates you pick decide which tour you see. Fans who want both usually split their visit and come once in each week.

Getting to Manuka Doctor Arena

The arena is close to the CBD, and most people get there without a car. From Britomart Transport Centre at the bottom of Queen Street, it is roughly a 15–20 minute walk east along Beach Road and up into Stanley Street. Trains on every Auckland line and many buses terminate at Britomart, so it is the natural starting point.

Ferry passengers arriving at the Downtown terminal from Devonport or Waiheke follow the same walk, starting a few minutes further back. Parking around Parnell is limited during tournament sessions. Visitors staying in the central city or Parnell usually just walk, and rideshare drop-offs take care of the late sessions.

Changeovers and court manners

Tennis crowds follow rules that football crowds don’t, and the Auckland crowd follows them closely. Seats are entered and left only at changeovers. Players switch ends after the first game of a set and then after every two games, and that is when the aisles fill.

Ushers hold people at the top of the stairways while play is live. During a point the stands go quiet: no calling out, and no standing up with a phone. Between points, and especially after a long rally, the crowd is loud and generous with it, and local players get the biggest noise of the week.

A few other habits regulars share:

• Flash photography is off during play; plain phone photos between points are fine.
• Bags are smaller than you’d think necessary. Large-event venues generally screen bags at the gate, so fans travel light.
• Outer courts reward wandering. Early rounds and doubles matches are often played away from centre court, and that is where you get closest to the players.

Summer sun, Auckland showers

January is high summer in New Zealand, and the sun is the thing first-time visitors underestimate. The UV index in Auckland in midsummer is among the highest anywhere, and an afternoon in an open-air stand burns quickly. Regulars come with a hat, sunglasses and sunscreen they top up through the session.

The arena is open to the sky, and Auckland weather is changeable even in summer. A passing shower stops play while the ground staff pull covers and dry the lines. Delays like this are part of the tournament’s history, and they can shuffle the order of play. Locals tend to pack a light rain jacket alongside the sunscreen.

Before and after the match: Parnell and the Domain

Parnell is one of Auckland’s oldest suburbs, and the tennis sits at the bottom of it. Up the hill, Parnell Road has cafés, restaurants and galleries in its old villas and shopfronts. It is where many spectators eat before a night session or after a day one.

Just above the courts, the Auckland Domain spreads across the slopes of an extinct volcano. It is the city’s oldest park, and the Auckland War Memorial Museum stands on its crown with views over the harbour. The museum’s Māori and Pacific collections make a good morning before an afternoon session.

Other easy add-ons from the arena:

• Parnell Rose Gardens, at their summer peak during the tournament.
• The Wintergardens in the Domain, two glasshouses either side of a courtyard pool.
• The Viaduct and Wynyard Quarter on the waterfront, a walk past Britomart, for an evening by the harbour.

Tickets, order of play and where it all lives

The organiser publishes the 2027 dates, ticket options and the daily order of play on the ASB Classic’s official site. That is also where session structure and venue rules sit. Ticket prices appear there rather than anywhere in this guide.

Many tennis fans plan around the final weekend of each week, when the semi-finals and finals are played. Those sessions draw the biggest crowds of the fortnight. The early days have more matches across more courts, which suits anyone who wants volume over drama.

A typical session takes a few hours, and a full day at the grounds easily fills an afternoon and evening. Visitors who split the day between the courts, Parnell and the Domain get the most out of a short stay in Auckland.