In 1969, the first-ever Australian Open tournament took place under the new umbrella of the ‘Open Era’, which allowed professional athletes to compete with amateurs.
Rod Laver, an 11-time Grand Slam champion, won the first event on the men’s side, defeating Andrés Gimeno 6-3, 6-4, 7-5 in the final.
A year later, Arthur Ashe became the first American Open Era champion at the event.
Ashe, who passed away in 1993, was an inspirational figure who remains the only black man to win the singles titles at Wimbledon, the US Open, and the Australian Open.
Arthur Ashe’s 1970 Australian Open triumph
In 1970, Arthur Ashe won his second Grand Slam title at the Australian Open.
Ashe, seeded fourth, began by defeating Geoff Masters and William Bowrey – both in straight sets. He then defeated Raymond Ruffels in four sets before knocking out compatriot Dennis Ralston in the semi-finals.
In the final, Ashe defeated home favourite Dick Crealy 6–4, 9–7, 6–2.
Who will win the 2026 men’s Australian Open?
Ashe, who won his first major at the 1968 US Open, went on to win his third and final Grand Slam title in 1975 at the Wimbledon Championships.
Ashe was a prominent civil rights and anti-apartheid activist. He was also a prominent AIDS activist after learning of his own HIV diagnosis in 1988.
The American sadly passed away in 1993 due to AIDS-related pneumonia.
Speaking to the United States Tennis Association years later, Billie Jean King – who founded the WTA and fought for equal prize money in tennis – spoke highly of Ashe.
She said: “Arthur’s my generation. It was great watching him win the first US Open, and he was such an inspiration to so many people.
“He was such a humanitarian on and off the court. He fought for AIDS, he fought for equality, and Arthur was such a wonderful gift and I hope every player gets a chance to play on Ashe Stadium, to walk out there, see his name, to know who he is.
“And he wasn’t just a tennis player.”
The last American US Open Men’s Singles champion
Andre Agassi, an eight-time Grand Slam champion, remains the last American man to win the Australian Open Men’s Singles title.
In 2001, Agassi was seeded sixth at the event. However, all of the top four seeds exited the competition by the quarter-final stage.
This gave Agassi the perfect opportunity to capitalise.
He did just that, defeating 15th seed Arnaud Clement 6-4, 6-2, 6-2 in the final. The triumph would end up being Agassi’s final Grand Slam title win.
