Australian Open 2027: Dates, Tickets & Venue (Melbourne)

Blue courts, a white roof over Rod Laver Arena, and the Melbourne skyline behind the trees of Birrarung Marr. That’s the picture behind the season’s first Grand Slam. The Australian Open 2027 runs from January 11 to January 31 at Melbourne Park. It starts with Opening Week and ends with the singles finals on January 30 and 31.

The precinct sits on the edge of the city centre. You can walk there from the CBD, and that is a big reason the tournament feels so easy to drop into. Plenty of visitors come for one afternoon session and end up coming back the next day.

Three weeks, one precinct

The tournament has a shape, and knowing it helps you pick your days. Opening Week comes first. The draw is at its widest then, and the outer courts have matches on them from morning onwards.

The main draw takes up the rest of the month. Each round, the field gets smaller and play moves onto fewer courts. The last weekend belongs to the singles finals:

• Saturday, January 30: traditionally the women’s singles final
• Sunday, January 31: traditionally the men’s singles final

Tennis Australia, which runs the event, publishes the full schedule, session times and ticket links on the official Australian Open website. It also announces the order of play there each day.

Getting to Melbourne Park

The walk is part of going to the tennis. From Flinders Street Station, fans head east along the Yarra through Birrarung Marr. The path crosses towards the arenas, and the walk takes roughly 15–20 minutes at an easy pace.

There are other ways in too:

• Tram: route 70 runs along Batman Avenue and stops right by Rod Laver Arena.
• Train: Richmond and Jolimont stations are both within walking distance of the precinct.
• On foot from the CBD: the walk down from Federation Square is flat and signposted.

Driving and parking near Melbourne Park in tournament weeks is slow. Most attendees use public transport and go home the same way.

The arenas and what a ground pass gets you

Melbourne Park has three main show courts, and all three have retractable roofs:

• Rod Laver Arena: the centre court, where the finals are played
• Margaret Court Arena: the second show court
• John Cain Arena: a bowl-shaped arena known for loud, flag-waving crowds

Kia Arena and a large group of outside courts surround them. Reserved seats for the show courts are sold by session, usually a day session and a night session.

A ground pass is the cheaper, more flexible way in. It typically covers the outside courts and some general-admission seating, and fans often use it to wander from court to court in the first week. The official site lists exactly what each ticket type covers for this edition. Prices are listed there too.

Heat, roofs and the long night sessions

Melbourne in January can swing from mild to scorching within a couple of days. The tournament has an Extreme Heat Policy that can suspend play on the outer courts and close the roofs on the show courts. On a hot day, the covered arenas are the most comfortable seats in the precinct.

Night sessions are the other quirk. Evening matches on Rod Laver Arena have a reputation for running very late. In 2008, Lleyton Hewitt and Marcos Baghdatis finished their match after 4am.

Fans with night tickets usually plan their trip home with this in mind. The trams and trains keep running during tournament nights, but a five-set match can outlast the last convenient connection.

Between points: how Melbourne Park works

The etiquette is simple. Most people pick it up after one match.

• Moving seats: in the show courts, nobody moves while a point is being played. Ushers hold people at the aisle doors until the changeover, which comes after odd-numbered games.
• Noise: cheering between points is part of the fun, especially at John Cain Arena. During a rally the crowd goes quiet, and anyone who shouts gets shushed.
• Sun: Australians take “slip, slop, slap” seriously. Locals bring a hat, sunscreen and sunglasses, and they refill water bottles at the drinking taps around the grounds.
• Paying: card and tap payments are the norm around the venue. Tipping isn’t expected at the food stalls.
• Picking courts: ground-pass holders tend to look at the day’s order of play and plan a loop of outside courts. Big names drawn onto small courts in Opening Week are how people end up sitting a few rows from a seed.

The city around the tennis

Melbourne Park is part of a sports precinct. The Melbourne Cricket Ground is a short walk away across Yarra Park, and the whole area is busy with sport through the summer.

After a day session, a lot of people walk back along the river towards Federation Square and the laneways of the CBD. Others take a train one stop to Richmond, where pubs line Swan Street. The Royal Botanic Gardens are across the river and make a shaded break on a rest day.

For where to stay, visitors usually choose:

• The CBD: walking distance to the precinct and close to trams
• Southbank: riverside hotels just across from Flinders Street
• Richmond: quieter streets near the train line, with Melbourne Park within walking distance

How long to give it

One session gives you a good look at the place. A full day lets you see both: an afternoon wandering the outside courts, then a show-court match under the lights.

Visitors who come to Melbourne for the tournament often split their days. They do Opening Week or the early rounds on a ground pass, when there is the most tennis to see. Then they save a reserved seat for a later round on Rod Laver Arena.

The finals weekend on January 30-31 is the most sought-after part of the fortnight. It is also the time when the city is busiest with tennis visitors.