The Australian Open typically starts around the middle of January and continues for two weeks, concluding with the men's final traditionally held on the last Sunday of the month.

[1] First held in 1905 as the Australasian championships, the Australian Open has grown to become one of the biggest sporting events in the Southern Hemisphere.

The tournament has been held at the Melbourne Park complex since 1988 and is a major contributor to the Victorian economy; the 2020 Australian Open injected $387.7 million into the state's economy, while over the preceding decade, the Australian Open had contributed more than $2.71 billion in economic benefits to Victoria and generated 1775 jobs for the state, with these jobs being predominantly in the accommodation, hotels, cafés and trade services sectors.

[6] Although it began in 1905, the International Lawn Tennis Federation (ILTF) did not designate it a major championship until 1924, following a meeting held in 1923.

When the tournament was held in Perth, no one from Victoria or New South Wales crossed by train, a distance of about 3,000 kilometres (1,900 mi) between the east and west coasts.

[12] In those years, the best two players – Australian Norman Brookes (whose name is now written on the men's singles cup) and New Zealander Anthony Wilding – almost did not play this tournament.

Even when the Australasian Championships were held in Hastings, New Zealand, in 1912, Wilding, though three times Wimbledon champion, did not come back to his home country.

Thus, many players had never played the Austral(as)ian amateur or open championships: the Doherty brothers, William Larned, Maurice McLoughlin, Beals Wright, Bill Johnston, Bill Tilden, René Lacoste, Henri Cochet, Bobby Riggs, Jack Kramer, Ted Schroeder, Pancho Gonzales, Budge Patty, and others, while Brookes, Ellsworth Vines, Jaroslav Drobný, came just once.

[13] Nevertheless, except for the 1969 and 1971 tournaments, many of the best players missed the championship until 1982, because of the remoteness, the inconvenient dates (around Christmas and New Year's Day) and the low prize money.

In 1970, George MacCall's National Tennis League, which employed Rod Laver, Ken Rosewall, Andrés Gimeno, Pancho Gonzales, Roy Emerson and Fred Stolle, prevented its players from entering the tournament because the guarantees were insufficient.

Roger Federer and Serena Williams are the only players to win the Australian Open on both Rebound Ace and Plexicushion Prestige.

[20] Before the Melbourne Park stadium era, tournament dates fluctuated as well, in particular in the early years because of the climate of each site or exceptional events.

[21] Such a change, however, would move the tournament outside Australia's summer school holiday period, potentially impacting attendance figures.

Prior to 1996, the Australian Open rewarded fewer ATP rankings points than the other three Grand Slam tournaments.

[23][24] In any case, it was around this time the Melbourne Park precinct commenced upgrades which enhanced facilities for players and spectators.

[25] The precinct also aimed to provide more options of refreshments especially coffee to entertain the growing number of local and international visitors.

[27] The player and administrative facilities, as well as access points for spectators, were improved and the tournament site expanded its footprint out of Melbourne Park into nearby Birrarung Marr.

[28] A fourth major show court, seating 5,000 people was completed in late 2021, along with the rest of decade-long redevelopment, which included the Centrepiece ballroom, function and media building, as well as other upgraded facilities for players, administrators and spectators.

[30] In 2020, the tournament organisers decided to replace the official court manufacturer to GreenSet, though retained the iconic blue cushioned acrylic hardcourt.

[31] In 2021, in an effort to reduce the number of staff on-site due to the COVID-19 pandemic, all matches used electronic line judging.

It marked the first-ever Grand Slam tournament to exclusively use electronic line judging; the 2020 US Open used it for matches outside of the two main stadium courts.

[47] The prize money distribution is as follows:[e] The names of the tournament winners are inscribed on the perpetual trophy cups.

Other broadcasters in the region have included the BBC in the United Kingdom, SRG in Switzerland, NOS in Netherlands and RTS in Serbia.