It’s always exciting when the Australian Open rolls around. This, after all, is a tournament that never fails to deliver the goods. With plenty of action, talking points, and more, it’s no wonder that the Australian Open remains one of the most highly-watched tennis competitions in the world. And while there are no guarantees in this world, it seems reasonable to expect more of the same when the 2022 Australian Open gets underway!
In this blog, we’re going to run through everything you need to know, including the details, a review of last year, who’s looking good in the men’s and women’s competitions, and more.
The Details
You’ll want to clear your schedule from Monday 17 January through to Sunday, 30 January. That’s thirteen days of world-class tennis coming straight to your television. It all takes place at the delightful Melbourne Park, so if you’re anywhere near Melbourne, take a look at getting yourself down there — tickets are on sale now. While there’ll be great tennis all throughout the competition, the final is a must-see, wherever you are. The women’s final will take place on Saturday, 29 January, with the men’s final taking place the following day.
What Happened Last Time?
Last year saw a couple of familiar faces lifting the trophy. In the women’s, young superstar Naomi Osaka won her second Australian Open title. And for the men, it was none other than Novak Djokovic. Last year was his 9th Australian Open title, a record.
Who’s Looking Good In The Men’s Competition?
As always, the bookies will have Novak Djokovic as the favourite to win the competition. He’s already won the Australian Open nine times, and if he can grab this one, he’ll be on top of the all-time men’s Grand Slams Singles leaderboard. But his victory is far from a foregone conclusion. For one thing, he may be unable to compete. In that case, the Open will be much more open. Daniil Medvedev and Alexander Zverev have decent odds. And there’ll be plenty of people using a free bet offer to back outsider Rafael Nadal if Djokovic is out of the picture. Nadal’s also chasing his 21st Grand Slam title and may never get a better opportunity to win the Australian Open than if the Serb is on the sidelines.
Who’s Looking Good In The Women’s Competition?
There are a few contenders in the women’s, but the two standout names are Noami Osaka and Ashleigh Barty. It’s too close to call between those players! Osaka does have winning experience, having won the tournament in 2019. Barty’s only Grand Slam title came at Wimbledon. However, this is her home tournament, and she did reach the semi-final two years ago. She’s 25 now, too, so with experience on her side, you have to imagine that she’ll be pretty confident going into the tournament. Outsiders for the tournament include Leylah Fernandez and Bianca Andreescu.
How Much Prize Money Is On Offer?
The primary motivation for lifting the trophy is that, well, you get to lift the trophy! As a Grand Slam tournament, the Australian Open is a tournament that every tennis player wants to win. But it’s not just getting their name in the record books that motivates players to win this competition. There’s plenty of prize money on offer, too. In total, there’s some $80 million that’ll be handed out among the players.
Despite an economic downturn through the past two years, the 2022 Australian Open authorities have increased the total prize purse by 4.5% over last year’s fund. This means that 2022 will set a new record as the highest purse in the history of the event. According to details released to the press, the winners for both men’s and women’s singles will each receive $4.4 million AUD. The runners up in both finals will receive exactly half at $2.2 million AUD.
And that’s that! All we have to do now is look forward to the action getting underway.
