The Australian Open in marvellous Melbourne is well under way in 2016, with the event drawing thousands of interstate and international visitors to Australia’s city of sport.
The Australian Open – The Grand Slam of Asia-Pacific – is broadcasted to more than 200 countries around the world and boosts the Victorian economy by millions, selling out hotels and injecting the city with a real sporting buzz.
This iconic Australian sporting event, for years sponsored by sport-loving Emirates, was first played in 1905, and held in various cities around Australia and NZ before finally settling in Melbourne in 1972 – which is undoubtedly the home of sport in Australia.
Aussie tennis veteran Todd Woodbridge
Here are five interesting facts on the Australian Open that you probably don’t know.
40,000 tennis balls are used every year in the tournament.
Now that’s a lot of balls!
The humble tennis ball dates back to 1480 and was originally made from leather stuffed with wool. These days it’s made out of a hollow rubber core, covered in a wool or nylon shell. Pressurised air inside the rubber core makes the ball bounce. And in case you’re wondering why are tennis balls yellow? Research conducted in the 70s revealed that yellow was the easiest colour to be seen on colour TVs.
There are usually more than 300 ball boys and girls in attendance each year
To become a ball boy or girl, hopeful applicants need to pass a written test and have the ability to stand in the sun for hours. The average age of a ball boy or girl is 15.
Rafael Nadal won the longest ever tennis match in 2009 against Fernando Verdasco.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z9nWyXdk-dU
Clocking in at five hours and 14 minutes of inspirational tennis, the semi-final between these two tennis heavy-weights was also voted as the 2009 ATP Tour Match of the Year.
Approximately 164,000 ice cream cones were sold during the 2007 Australian Open.
Lleyton Hewitt’s son, Cruz, is obviously an ice-cream fan
It was a record-breaking year in 2007, with 40+ degree days uncomfortably common for players and spectators alike. Luckily, ice-cream was close by.
All the action in the 2014 tournament was enough to fill 100 terabytes
That’s the equivalent of about 500,000 DVD quality movies. Now that’s a lot of tennis…