Jannik Sinner of Italy won the men’s singles title, while Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus won the women’s singles title at the Australian Open (AO) 2024 held at Rod Laver Arena, Melbourne, Australia.
- India’s Rohan Machanda Bopanna became the oldest man (at 43 years and 329 days) to win a Grand Slam after he and his partner Matthew Ebden (Australia) won the men’s doubles title at the Australian Open.
- Australian Open 2024, the 112th edition of the Australian Open, the 56th in the Open Era, and the first major/Grand Slam of the year 2024 was held from 14-28 January 2024.
- The Australian Open is played on hard courts.
Australian Open 2024 Winners:
| Category | Winner | Runner-Up |
|---|---|---|
| Men’s Singles | Jannik Sinner (Italy) | Daniil Medvedev (Russian – unflagged) |
| Women’s Singles | Aryna Sabalenka (Belarus- unflagged) | Zheng Qinwen (China) |
| Men’s Doubles | Rohan Machanda Bopanna (India) and Matthew Ebden(Australia) | Simone Bolelli (Italy) and Andrea Vavassori (Italy) |
| Women’s Doubles | Hsieh Su-Wei (Taiwan) and Elise Mertens(Belgium) | Jelena Ostapenko (Latvia) and Lyudmyla Kichenok (Ukraine) |
| Mixed Doubles | Hsieh Su-wei (Chinese Taipei) and Jan Zielinski(Poland) | Desirae Krawczyk (USA) and Neal Skupski (United Kingdom) |
Rohan Bopanna Wins Men’s Doubles titile:
i.Rohan Bopanna and Matthew Ebden defeated Simone Bolelli and Andrea Vavassori in the finals of the men’s doubles.
ii.Bopanna took 61 attempts, with 19 different partners to win his first men’s doubles Grand Slam.
iii.This marks Bopanna’s second grand slam title, following his Roland Garros (French Open)mixed doubles victory along with Gabriela Dabrowski (Canada) in 2017.
iv.Rohan Bopanna also became the oldest world No. 1 in the Pepperstone Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) men’s doubles at 43 years and 331 days Rankings as per the list released by ATP on 29th January 2024.
v.This marks Matthew Ebden’s third Grand Slam title, following his Australian Open mixed doubles title won in 2013 and the Wimbledon men’s doubles title in 2022
Note:
i. Bopanna was announced India’s fourth-highest civilian ‘Padma Shri’ in 2024 in the Sports field.
Highlights of 2023 Australian Open:
Men’s Singles:
i.Jannik Sinner won the men’s singles title by defeating Daniil Medvedev in the finals.
- Jannik Sinner was presented with the Norman Brookes Challenge Cup, named after Sir Norman Brookes (1877-1968), a former Australian tennis champion.
- This is the first grand slam title win for Jannik Sinner.
ii.Sinner is the first person from Italy to win the Australian Open singles title in the Open era.
- He is also the youngest player from Italy to win a Grand Slam title.
iii.Sinner also became the youngest player to defeat top 5 opponents in the final three matches of a Grand Slam since Michael Stich did it at Wimbledon in 1991.
- Sinner(Pepperstone ATP Rankings-Ranked No.4) defeated Andrey Rublev(No.5), Novak Djokovic(No.1), and Daniil Medvedev(No.3) in the Quarterfinals, semi-finals, and finals respectively.
Women’s Singles:
Aryna Sabalenka defeated Zheng Qinwen of China to win her second consecutive women’s singles title at the Australian Open, including her win in 2023.
- This marks her second Grand Slam title including her win in 2023 & 2024 Australian Open.
- Sabalenka was presented with the Daphne Akhurst Memorial Cup, named after Daphne Akhurst (1903 – 1933), a five times singles champion.
ii.Sabalenka is also the first woman to win consecutive titles at the Australian Open since Victoria Azarenka won the women’s singles title in 2012 & 2013.
Women’s Doubles:
i.Elise Mertens and Hsieh Su-wei won the women’s doubles title by defeating Lyudmyla Kichenok and Jelena Ostapenko in the finals.
- This marks Mertens and Hsieh’s second Grand Slam victory after they won at Wimbledon in 2021.
ii.Hsieh Su-wei also won the mixed doubles title along with Jan Zielinski (Poland) in the 2024 Australian Open.
- Hsieh became the first woman to win the Australian Open doubles and mixed doubles titles in the same year since Rennae Stubbs (Australia) won the 2000 Australian Open.
- Hsieh holds three of the four women’s doubles Grand Slam titles after winning at the 2023 French Open (with China’s Wang Xinyu) and 2023 Wimbledon (with Czech Barbora Strycova).
- Hsieh also became the second oldest women’s doubles Grand Slam winner at the age of 38 years and 24 days, while Lisa Raymond (USA) became the oldest when she won the 2011 US Open at the age of 38 years and 32 days.
iii.This marks Mertens’ second Australian Open title, including her win in 2021 alongside Aryna Sabalenka.
- It also marks her fourth major doubles title in total.
Mixed Doubles:
i.Hsieh Su-wei and Jan Zielinski won the mixed doubles title by defeating Desirae Krawczyk and Neal Skupski in the finals.
ii.This marks the first major mixed doubles title for both Hsieh and Zielinski.
iii.Hsieh became the first player from Chinese Taipei to win an Australian Open mixed doubles title and Zielinski became the first Polish player in history to win a major mixed doubles title.
Prize Money:
Total prize money: 10 million Australian Dollar(AUD)
Singles Winner: AUD 3,150,000
Doubles Winner: AUD 730,000
India’s Prithvi Sekhar Wins Australian Open in the Deaf and Hard of Hearing category
Prithvi Sekhar won the singles title by defeating Gabor Mathe of Hungary at the Australian Open 2024 Deaf or Hard of Hearing (DHoH) Championships.
- He also became a runner-up along with Glenn Flindell(Australia) in the doubles after losing to Esah Hayat(UK) and Gabor Mathe (Hungary).
Novak Djokovic Played his 100th Match in Australian Open
i.Novak Djokovic played his 100th Australian Open main draw match where he faced Tomas Martin Etcheverry(Argentina) in the round of 32.
- He is the third player to achieve this feat after Roger Federer (Switzerland)(117) and Serena Williams (USA)(105) at the Australian Open.
ii.He also crossed the 100th match mark in the other three grand slams, including the French Open (108), Wimbledon (103), and the US Open (101).
Recent related News:
i.Indian tennis legends Leander Paes; Indian sports commentator and promoter Vijay Amritraj; and British sports journalist and writer Richard Evans were inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame as a part of the class of 2024.
About Australia:
Prime Minister– Anthony Albanese
Capital– Canberra
Currency– Australian Dollar
