Grab This Niche Australian Open Guide to Melbourne: Steal the Spotlight While Watching the Matches!

Returning to the Australian Open after four years, I found this year's event not only more vibrant but also full of non-stop surprises. Let me share this practical 'tennis-themed' travel guide while it's hot—everyone, save it now!

🎾【Why choose to watch the Australian Open?】: As the most important event in tennis, the Australian Open is, in my opinion, the most worthwhile experience. First, in terms of atmosphere, it is the most relaxed, lively, and carefree of all the major tournaments. Even if you’re not a tennis fan, you can find your own joy here. Second, the venue is located in 📍Melbourne Park, which is the closest stadium to the city center among the four Grand Slams. You can walk from the city center, and there is also a free AO shuttle bus to take you to the venue. Such a friendly arrangement makes fans feel very comfortable. Third, during the Australian Open, every day feels like a festival. You often encounter theme days and experience different social cultures and entertainment. With such a rich schedule, a relaxed atmosphere, and a high overall social safety factor, you don’t have to worry too much about safety even if you watch matches until midnight. No wonder the 'Australian Open-themed tour' is becoming an increasingly popular reason for people to visit Melbourne, because every time you come to this city, you can find different ways to have fun.

⛺【What preparations should you make in advance?】: The most important things before your trip are booking flights, hotels, and tickets. I am a loyal fan of Ctrip because its service quality is definitely superior to other platforms. Whether it’s purchasing or canceling/changing reservations, it’s very convenient and fast. Many friends don’t know how powerful Ctrip’s ticket service is. In fact, many overseas performances, events, art galleries, and museums can be ordered in advance on Ctrip, and sometimes tickets are cheaper than buying them overseas. The method is simple: just enter keywords in the search area. For example, if you search for 'Australian Open' 1-2 months before the event, you will see the Australian Open ticket purchase page, as well as recommendations for nearby hotels, car rentals, and SIM cards—truly a one-stop service.

✈️【How to book suitable flights?】: Everyone is familiar with booking regular flights: direct, connecting, business class, economy class—just choose according to your needs. If you want to save money, you can select 'discount tickets' next to the flight options, enter your approximate travel period, and you’ll often come across surprising prices.

🏨【How to choose a hotel near the Australian Open courts?】: The biggest advantage of visiting Melbourne is that the city center’s public transport system is free, greatly facilitating travel. You can refer to the green area in the picture below to book a hotel, so you can go to the venue for free.

🎫【How to book Australian Open AO tickets?】: First, find the Australian Open booking page. You will see different dates, venues, seats, and prices. At this point, many people may feel confused and not know how to book. My advice is simple: if you only want to watch for one day, I suggest buying tickets for 📍Rod Laver Arena. This way, you can not only watch the most important matches of the day in the main stadium but also watch other matches on the outer courts. If you are a hardcore fan, I suggest buying a full Ground Pass. First, watch the free matches on the outer courts. Every evening, when the next day’s match schedule and players are announced, you can upgrade or buy additional main court tickets based on your favorite players. This can maximize savings on ticket costs. I didn’t calculate my ticket expenses carefully this time and spent about RMB 4000. If I had followed the tips above, I could have saved at least RMB 500.

📎【Ground Pass Outer Court Viewing Tips】: Even with a Ground Pass, you can’t just watch any match you want, because the outer court seats are limited, and popular players’ matches will be very crowded. I suggest making good use of the AO app: check the next day’s match schedule one day in advance. For popular players’ outer court matches, queue at least 30 minutes in advance. Additionally, the app can show you the player practice courts, where you can see your favorite players training up close. It’s also a great place to try to get autographs and photos.

📷【Are there any photo spots or check-in points?】: There are many vendors on-site offering coffee, food, wine, clothing, and entertainment. Let’s talk about the entertainment and photo-check-in spots first. The Australian Open has two main entrances, each with different decorations. At the public transport entrance, you can take a photo of the blue background board with the AO logo. At the pedestrian bridge entrance, you can capture the AO logo made of tennis balls. There are also ladies wearing AO tennis outfits available for photos. Of course, my favorite is taking a photo with the huge Australian Open trophy on the wall of the Polo store—it’s very imposing. It’s also worth taking photos in front of the different venue names.

📎【Are there any souvenirs worth buying?】: The hottest item this year is definitely Djokovic’s Water Drop bottle. It is said that 80,000 units were sold. It’s also a great item for autographs; players like signing on it. Another hot brand is Polo. Since the on-site ball kids, staff attire, and towels used by players are all from Polo with live models, it’s really hard to resist buying. I ended up purchasing a hoodie because of them. Also, the AO official merchandise store is the most common shop in the venue. Their best-selling item this year, which sold out, was the koala keychain. Those who managed to grab one were lucky. There is also a ping-pong table on-site for entertainment. The event coincided with 'Pride Day.' On that day, you could get free sunscreen, sun hats, and beautiful brooches. So, you can also 'score freebies' at the Australian Open.

📺【How to appear on global TV broadcasts?】: If you watch matches at Rod Laver Arena, you have a chance to be caught by the camera. I appeared on the broadcast for four consecutive days this time, really 'stealing the spotlight.' So, how can you be frequently captured? First, you need to be eye-catching. Eye-catching means wearing clothes of a unified color, having decorations, carrying 📦 support signs, or holding a flag. Second, at breaks or match points, actively wave your sign or flag. Also, during intermissions, stand up and sway in rhythm with your companions, and you’ll be seen often!

🎾【Which courts in Melbourne are worth experiencing?】: I have played on four courts in Melbourne, all with good value for money. Playing a match in Melbourne costs about AUD 25-30 per hour. There are clay, hard, and artificial grass sand courts. All courts require advance booking. To balance resources, each email account can only book one hour. 1️⃣ Malvern Tennis Centre. This court is located near a community in the southern part of the city. It is said that Jay Chou played here. The surface is artificial grass sand, which makes the ball slower but is very kind to the knees. My friends loved it after playing. I recommend booking a time when you can see the sunset—it’s truly beautiful. 2️⃣ Fitzroy Tennis Club. This court is located in Edinburgh Gardens, surrounded by lush vegetation. The afternoon sunlight is beautiful. There are two types of courts here: one is clay, and the other is a clay-colored hard court. When playing, remember to leave 5 minutes at the end to water and drag the court—that’s the rule for clay courts. 3️⃣ Melbourne Park Australian Open Match Courts. If your visit to Melbourne doesn’t coincide with the Australian Open, the courts in Melbourne Park can be booked externally. For only AUD 28, you can experience the outer courts and feel like the players on their actual playing surface. Don’t forget to take a photo in front of the 'Melbourne' sign. 4️⃣ Princess Hill TC. This was the first court I played on in Melbourne. Since it was at night, I couldn’t see the surroundings clearly. From my friends, I learned that this court is also in a park with good greenery. It is also artificial grass sand, located in the north of the city near the University of Melbourne.

🧡【Finally】: I have visited Melbourne five times now. The frequent trips are because this city offers many ways to have fun, and the Australian Open is just one of them. I heard that the upcoming F1 event, wine and food festival are coming. If you want to experience speed and passion as well as the world’s longest table, you can start planning!