Almanac Tennis: The top 15 Australian Female Tennis Players 1985-2024

With the finals of the Australian Open about to take place Philip Mendes nominates his top 15 female tennis players during the years 1985 – 2024.

Almanac Tennis – 1975 Australian Open: Jimbo v Newk, a Cult Classic

As the 2025 Australian Open begins, Michael Sexton revisits the classic 1975 Jimmy Connors v John Newcombe men’s final.

Almanac Tennis: Game, Set and Match to Martina

Martina Navratilova is a true champion – both on and off court. Smokie tells of his Twitter exchange with Martina, and the gift he received from her in the post.

Almanac Tennis: Martina and My Tennis Ball

Smokie recalls Martina Navratilova thwacking his tennis ball at the 1983 Australian Open.

Almanac Tennis – Double Fault: Djokovic and two missed shots

Perhaps the dust has begun to settle on the visa drama around men’s top ranked player, Novak Djokovic as the tournament inspires and entertains…but perhaps not. Jonathan Cuch looks at the maelstrom of controversy that the Serbian star regularly courts.

Almanac Tennis: Are Stefanos and Naomi the new faces of tennis?

The Australian Open, against all odds, has continued to power on over the last fortnight. With only three games left in the main draw, both sides hold a chance of changing the guard of world tennis.

The Australian Open Revisited (or ‘A Day at the Tennis’)

Paul Spinks enjoys a massive day at the Australian Open – the middle Saturday – the first time he’s been in quite a while. He recounts his experience (includes some supporting pics).

Almanac Tennis: The Lessons of Ash Barty

It’s back to school week, so time for some homework. Former teacher Ian Hauser suggests that Ash Barty might provide a helpful focus to learn some useful lessons.

Australian Open: The contenders

Jake “Cobba” Stevens brings you all you need to know about the main contenders in this year’s men’s singles of the Australian Open with an infographic.

The battle for Melbourne’s soul: Sporting Capital or International City of Culture?

AFL Grand Final day 2009. A young Japanese tourist wandered down Spring Street, Melbourne, dressed in a fashionable clinging top with blue and white horizontals. She was quickly surrounded by Geelong fans, vying to have their photo taken beside her. An observer described her as “utterly, utterly perplexed”.

Cobba’s Big Tennis Adventure

Let me take you back to March 2008. I was surfing the net looking at various sport sites. I came across the Australian Open website which looked like it hadn’t been updated since a day after the tournament ended. However there was one new story on the list. It read “Australian Open Ballkid Applications Now [Read more]

Know your tennis crowd

Melbourne is abuzz with the excitement of The Australian Open. Well. Sort of. Channel 7 tells us it is, and Channel 7 is abuzz with tennis, and hilariously funny gaffs which allow Todd Woodbridge to liken himself to S.K. Warne (Todd Woodbridge is like S.K. Warne the way Maggie Thatcher is like Juliet Binoche). Yes, [Read more]

Open Day at Flinders Park

by Rod Oaten One of my favourite days of the sporting calendar is day one of the Australian Open. No-one’s been beaten, and from the the player with the lowest ranking, who dreams of a major upset, to one of the top dogs, everyone is in with a chance. Unlike last year, when the weather was [Read more]

Tennis: Hits and misses on the road to the Roger and Serena show

By Bernard Whimpress It was a bad start to the women’s part of the 2010 Australian Open draw with the best body and maybe the best legs in the tournament exiting in the first round. Out went Maria Sharapova, the 2008 champion, back on the tour after shoulder injury and seeded fourteen. But this wasn’t [Read more]

Tennis: Leconte as a commentator? Allez! Allez!

Not being your bona-fide modern tennis fan, it takes something out of the ordinary for me to sit and watch the Australian Open for extended periods. Mine is the world of grass courts, Lecoste shirts, Dunlop Volleys and ‘serve and volley’ games. Aside from the latest Damir Dokic rant, I rarely take notice. But Channel [Read more]

Tennis: My Australian Open preview

By Domenic Favata Men The men’s singles is headlined by Federer, Nadal, Murray, Del Potro; all have a chance of claiming the first tournament of the year.