Top
Novak Djokovic and Aryna Sabalenka - Australian Open 2023
ATP Tennis Players, Australian Open, British Tennis Players, Tennis News, WTA Tennis Players

Australian Open 2024 Preview: When is it, who is playing and what is the prize money?


The 112nd Australian Open is almost here, with the likes of Novak Djokovic, Carlos Alcaraz, Iga Swiatek and Aryna Sabalenka all looking to kick-off the season with a bang!

And we, at Tennishead, have everything you need to know ahead of the first major of 2024:

When is the 2024 Australian Open?

The Australian Open main draw will begin on Sunday 14th January, as it becomes a 15-day tournament for the first time in history, concluding on Sunday 28th January with the men’s singles and women’s doubles finals.

Wheelchair events will begin at the later date of Tuesday 23rd January, before coming to a close on Saturday 27th January.

Day sessions will begin at 11am local time (Midnight GMT), with night sessions starting at 7pm (8am GMT) in Melbourne.

To get a more detailed look at the tournament schedule, visit the official Australian Open website here.

Where is the 2024 Australian Open?

The Australian Open will once again be held at Melbourne Park, as it has done for the past 36 years. It is one of the biggest tennis venues in the world, with a total of 39 courts.

The complex is headlined by three main show courts in the Rod Laver Arena (15,000 seats), Margaret Court Arena (10,500 seats) and the John Cain Arena (7,500 seats).

Who is playing at the 2024 Australian Open?

The top seed at the Melbourne major is 10-time champion Novak Djokovic, who is looking to equal Margaret Court with a historic 11th Australian Open and surpass her with a 25th Grand Slam title.

Djokovic has not lost at the tournament since 2018, when he was beaten in the fourth round by Hyeon Chung.

However, the Serb has suffered defeat already down under this year, with his 46-match winning streak in Australia coming to an end at the hands of Alex de Minaur.

Carlos Alcaraz is the second seed, with the Spaniard making only his third appearance at the tournament after missing last year through injury.

Other threats to Djokovic include two-time Australian Open runner-up Daniil Medvedev and world No.4 Jannik Sinner, who was the only person to beat the 24-time Grand Slam champion twice last year.

Rafael Nadal withdrew from the tournament after suffering a ‘micro tear on a muscle’, meaning that it’s the first time the tournament does not feature either the Mallorcan or Roger Federer since 1999.

Therefore, the only other former champion in the men’s singles draw besides Djokovic is Stan Wawrinka, who will play 20th seed Adrian Mannarino in the first round.

Men’s wildcards have been awarded to Arthur Cazaux, Juncheng Shang and Patrick Kypson, as well as Australian hopefuls Jason Kubler, James Duckworth, James McCabe, Marc Polmans and Adam Walton.

Cameron Norrie leads the field in terms of Brits, however there are some concerns for the 28-year-old after he pulled out of his quarter-final match in Auckland with a wrist injury.

Norrie is joined by Dan Evans and five-time Australian Open finalist Andy Murray, who would play Novak Djokovic for the first time since 2017 if both players were to reach the third round.

Jack Draper is the final British male in the singles main draw, with the 22-year-old still currently in Adelaide as he prepares to play his second consecutive ATP Tour final.

In the women’s draw, Iga Swiatek is the top seed once again, as she looks to improve on her best previous Australian Open result of reaching the semi-final.

The four-time Grand Slam champion arrives at the first major tournament of 2024 in sensational form, having won all five of her singles matches as part of Poland’s United Cup squad.

Swiatek has a tricky first round encounter though, as she plays 2020 Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin in a rematch of their Roland Garros final from that same year.

Defending champion Aryna Sabalenka returns to Melbourne as the second seed, looking to become the first woman to defend the women’s singles title since her Belarusian compatriot Victoria Azarenka in 2013.

Last year’s runner-up Elena Rybakina also returns to the tournament in good form, having beaten Sabalenka in dominant fashion to win the Brisbane International title last week.

There are also reigning Grand Slam champions Coco Gauff and Marketa Vondrousova in the draw, with the former coming off the back of retaining her title in Auckland.

As well as Sabalenka, Azarenka and Kenin, there are three other former champions coming back to Melbourne in returning mothers Naomi Osaka, Angelique Kerber and Caroline Wozniacki.

Wozniacki is one of eight wildcards alongside Alize Cornet, Mai Hontama, McCartney Kessler and home players Kimberly Birrell, Olivia Gadecki, Taylah Preston and Daria Saville.

In terms of British interest, Katie Boulter arrives in good form after picking up her first win over a top five ranked player in American Jessica Pegula.

There will also be the highly anticipated Grand Slam return of Emma Raducanu, who will play Shelby Rogers in the first round, as well as Jodie Burrage playing in the main draw of the Australian Open for the first time in her career.

READ MORE – Australian Open 2024: Popcorn matches from the women’s singles draw

How many ranking points are on offer at the 2024 Australian Open?

There have been some changes made to the amount of ranking points offered for male singles players this year, however the winner’s total still remains at a whopping 2000 points.

Here is the full breakdown for the singles, doubles, wheelchair and junior events:

EventWFSFQFRound of 16Round of 32Round of 64Round of 128QQ3Q2Q1
Men’s singles200013008004002001005010301680
Men’s doubles1200720360180900N/A
Women’s singles130078043024013070104030202
Women’s doubles10N/A

Wheelchair Events

EventWFSF/3rdQF/4th
Singles800500375100
Doubles800500100N/A
Quad singles800500100
Quad doubles800100N/A

Junior Events

EventWFSFQFRound of 16Round of 32QQ3
Boys’ singles37527018012075302520
Girls’ singles
Boys’ doubles2701801207545N/A
Girls’ doubles

What is the prize money for the 2024 Australian Open?

The total Australian Open prize pot for this year is A$86.5 million, which is a 13% increase from last year’s tournament.

This is the breakdown for the singles (main draw and qualifying), doubles and mixed doubles:

Main Draw

EventWFSFQFRound of 16Round of 32Round of 64Round of 128
SinglesA$3,150,000A$1,725,000A$990,000A$600,000A$375,000A$255,000A$180,000A$120,000
Doubles*A$730,000A$400,000A$227,500A$128,000A$75,000A$53,000A$36,000N/A
Mixed Doubles*A$165,000A$94,000A$50,000A$26,500A$13,275A$6,900N/A

*Per team

Qualifying

EventQ3Q2Q1
Singles A$65,000A$44,100A$31,250

Who won the Australian Open last year?

Novak Djokovic beat Stefanos Tsitsipas in straight sets to reclaim the Australian Open title last year, with 10 historic victories to his name.

The women’s final was quite different, with two players who had never been in the final before in Aryna Sabalenka and Elena Rybakina.

It was Sabalenka who got the upper hand in the close-fought match, enabling the Belarusian to win her first Grand Slam title.

An interesting fact from the girls’ junior singles final from last year is that both Alina Korneeva and Mirra Andreeva are confirmed to be in the senior main draw this year, after the former confirmed her qualification earlier today.

Here is the full list of champions from the 15 different events in 2023:

EventChampionRunner-upScore
Men’s SinglesNovak DjokovicStefanos Tsitsipas6–3 7–6(4) 7–6(5)
Women’s SinglesAryna SabalenkaElena Rybakina4–6 6–3 6–4
Men’s DoublesRinky Hijikata & Jason KublerHugo Nys & Jan Zieliński6–4 7–6(4)
Women’s DoublesBarbora Krejcikova & Katerina SiniakovaShuko Aoyama & Ena Shibahara6–4 6–3
Mixed DoublesLuisa Stefani & Rafael MatosSania Mirza & Rohan Bopanna7–6(2) 6–2
Wheelchair Men’s SinglesAlfie HewettTokito Oda6–3 6–1
Wheelchair Women’s SinglesDiede de GrootYui Kamiji0–6 6–2 6–2
Wheelchair Quad SinglesSam SchröderNiels Vink6–2 7–5
Wheelchair Men’s DoublesAlfie Hewett & Gordon ReidMaikel Scheffers & Ruben Spaargaren6–1 6–2
Wheelchair Women’s DoublesDiede de Groot & Aniek van KootYui Kamiji & Zhu Zhenzhen6–3 6–2
Wheelchair Quad DoublesSam Schröder & Niels VinkDonald Ramphadi & Ymanitu Silva6-1 6-3
        Boys’ Singles Alexander BlockxLearner Tien 6-1 2-6 7-6(9)
        Girls’ Singles Alina Korneeva Mirra Andreeva 6(2)-7 6-4 7-5 
       Boys’ Doubles Learner Tien & Cooper WilliamsAlexander Blockx & Joao Fonseca 6-4 6-4
       Girls’ Doubles Renata Jamrichova & Federica Urgesi Hayu Kinoshita & Sara Saito7-6(5) 1-6 10-7

How can you watch the 2024 Australian Open?

You can watch the Australian Open on Eurosport and Discovery+ in the United Kingdom, Channel9 in Australia and on ESPN in the United States of America.

To see the official broadcaster in your location, visit the Australian Open website here.

READ NEXT – Australian Open 2024: Popcorn matches from the men’s singles draw

 Join >> Receive $700/£600 of tennis gear from the Tennishead CLUB

 Social >> Facebook, Twitter & YouTube

 Read >> World’s best tennis magazine

 Shop >> Lowest price tennis gear from our trusted partner 


By
1

Matthew Johns, Tennishead Writer, is a professional tennis journalist with a specialist degree in Sports Journalism. He's a keen tennis player having represented his local club and University plus he's also a qualified tennis coach. Matthew has a deep knowledge of tennis especially the ATP Tour and thrives on breaking big tennis news stories for Tennishead.