The 2016 Australian Open is about to begin, and the excitement around the tennis world is palpable. It’s the first grand slam of the year and in many ways, is the tone setter for the rest of the season. Although this is the least-watched grand slam in the western part of the world, it doesn’t make it any less valuable. We’re going to see all of the stars show up in Australia for what will be a very important event to start 2016.
On the women’s side, all eyes are on Serena Williams. She’s the star of the show and the one woman that is unstoppable – assuming that she’s focused and on her game. She’s fresh off an incredible season where she won three of the four grand slams while making it to the semifinals in the U.S. Open. Williams is the defending champion at the Australian Open but keep in mind that prior to that, she hadn’t won the event in four years. In those four seasons, she hadn’t made it past the quarter-finals. However, she’ll be a popular bet this week as she’s won six Australian Open titles overall.
The competition in the 128-player main draw began on Monday, January 18 in Australia, which will be Sunday, January 17 for viewers in the United States and Canada.
Event Details
Event: Australian Open
Category: ITF (International Tennis Federation) Grand Slam
Date: January 18 – February 1, 2016
Location: Melbourne Park – Melbourne, Australia
With a prize money allotment of $44 million, there will be a great chance for players to support their careers and get the money which will pay for medical treatment, advanced training, and perhaps more involved coaching in the future. Merely making and losing in the first round is worth $34,500, which is a bigger prize than making the final at a smaller tournament. Merely winning three matches and making the fourth round will be worth $200,000, a very lucrative prize. Semifinalists will make off with $800,000, and reaching the final will be worth $1.9 million. Winning it all? An outrageously huge $3.8 million prize awaits. Any player who had an injury-riddled 2015 or who struggled to put together good results could wipe away a lot of frustration by merely winning three or four matches in Australia. The elite players, the champions, are playing for the glory and the history books, but most players are trying to make sure they walk away from Melbourne with a large paycheck in their hands. It means a lot for the coming year, and it takes pressure away for the spring swing leading up to the French Open.
The points structure under the ITF system is that for the women, the championship means 2,000 points. A runner-up finish is worth 1,300. A semifinal result is 780 points, and a quarterfinal appearance offers 430 points.
Former Champions and Results (5 Years)
Year Champion Runner-up Score
2015 – Serena Williams d. Maria Sharapova – 6-3, 7-6 (5)
2014 – Li Na def. Dominika Cibulkova – 7-6 (3), 6-0
2013 – Victoria Azarenka def. Li Na – 4-6, 6-4, 6-3
2012 – Victoria Azarenka def. Maria Sharapova – 6-3, 6-0
2011 – Kim Clijsters def. Li Na – 3-6, 6-3, 6-3
Player Info:
While Lucie Safarova, last year’s French Open runner-up, will not play, Serena Williams will be around to defend her championship. Sharapova, last year’s runner-up, would meet Serena in the quarterfinals. In the next quarter of the draw, Agnieszka Radwanska and Petra Kvitova are the highest seeds. In the third quarter, Angelique Kerber and Garbine Muguruza are the highest seeds, but Victoria Azarenka is seeded 14th and placed in Muguruza’s section. She’s one to watch. In the final quarter, Venus Williams and Simona Halep are the highest remaining seeds.
Melbourne Park
The 2016 Australian Open will mark the 29th year of the tournament in its modern form. The event was a grass court event for many decades at the Kooyong Tennis Club, and in the early 1980s, it was a 64-player event, while the other three Grand Slam tournaments were 128-player events. In 1988, the tournament finally moved to Flinders Park, which is now called Melbourne Park. The grass surface at Kooyong gave way to a hardcourt surface at Flinders. What had been a rebound ace surface from 1988 through 2007 became a plexicushion surface in 2008.
Top 15 Odds To Win Australian Open
Serena Williams+275
Venus Williams+300
Victoria Azarenka+400
Simona Halep+800
Maria Sharapova+900
Garbine Muguruza+1200
Belinda Bencic+1400
Petra Kvitova+1400
Agnieszka Radwanska+1600
Angelique Kerber+2500
Sloane Stephens+2800
Caroline Wozniacki+4000
Karolina Pliskova+4000
Madison Keys+4000
Eugenie Bouchard+5000
