Cheers to Aeroplan – My Unforgettable 2024 Australian Open experience

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2024 Australian Open – Introduction

You know I am a tennis fan if you read my earlier review of my trip to the French Open at Roland Garros. I am more of an armchair athlete, though 😁

There are four majors/grand slams in the sport. After having seen the US Open, Wimbledon (in the UK), and the French Open (last year), the last Grand Slam tennis tournament on my bucket list was the Australian Open (AO), held in Melbourne every year in late January. Having visited Melbourne before and all the major tourist sites, this trip was strictly to see some tennis (and visit family and friends).

In 2024, the AO ran from January 14th to 28th. It is played during the summer in Australia when temperatures reach above 40°C. The weather sometimes makes the news as much as the tennis played here.

Getting the Tickets

Tickets go on sale in mid-October, and you need to register on the Australian Open website mailing list to find out when they go on sale. Usually, it is around the 2nd Wednesday in October, but registering on the site will provide the exact date. Tickets are available via Ticketmaster, but it is through the Australian Ticketmaster site.

I have a regular Ticketmaster account for various events in Canada; however, you need to get an account with Ticketmaster Australia for the AO. Of the other three grand slams I have attended, I found the AO as easy to get tickets for as the US Open in New York City, which also uses Ticketmaster.

The hardest I found was Wimbledon, where you must enter a lottery to get regular-priced tickets. If you are willing to pay four times or more the price, hospitality packages (called Debenture Tickets) are available at Wimbledon. Getting Wimbledon tickets to the later-stage matches is extremely difficult. The French Open is the second hardest only because it gives special groups, such as members of the Tennis French Federation, earlier access to tickets, which they quickly snap up.

I decided to check out the second half of the tournament in Melbourne: quarter-finals, semi-finals, and finals. As soon as tickets went on sale in October, I jumped online and got all the tickets I wanted without any issues or site crashes. I didn’t have to pay any scalper prices either 👍🏾

Tip: The Australian Ticketmaster site only allows you to purchase one match at a time, and once you check out, you need to go back to buy another match. The men’s games are always the most difficult to get, so I recommend getting your men’s game tickets once the window opens first. Be quick.

If you do have a budget, there are a lot of other options for tickets. On average, tickets are reasonably priced, with the highest prices for the Men’s Semis and Finals. The women’s draw is usually half the price of the men’s draw.

As the tickets are in Australian dollars, using a credit card that does not charge a foreign transaction fee is best. I used my Scotiabank Gold American Express Card (currently, there is no annual fee for the first year) because it doesn’t charge an FX fee. Unfortunately, since the transaction was in Australian dollars, I didn’t get the 5X points offered for Ticketmaster purchases.

During the two-week tournament, similar to all the other grand slams, you can get a ground pass from AUD 29 and up (with concession discounts like student and senior available) that allows you access to the grounds and an opportunity to watch some fantastic free tennis on some of the smaller courts. There are also practice courts where you can see some of the big names in tennis practice before their big match. It is best to download the Australian Open app so you are always on top of things regarding who is playing where or practicing on which court. Practise details are released only on the day of, and expect lineups to watch any of the top seeds on either the men’s or women’s draw practice.

The Main Courts

 

Rod Laver Arena (RLA): Named after Australian tennis legend Rod Laver, the only man to have won the Tennis Grand Slam (AO, French Open, Wimbledon, and US Open all in the same calendar year) twice, once as an amateur and once as a professional. The main ticketed games, such as the semis and finals, are played here.

Margaret Court Arena (MCA): Named after another Australian tennis legend, this arena hosts premier games, many of which are free to watch. It is connected to RLA via a common area.

Kia Arena: A smaller venue hosting events like the Boys and Girls tournament/finals and wheelchair tournament/finals.

1573 Arena: Another smaller court with primarily free games.

John Cain Arena: Not a court but a concert venue on the AO grounds. It hosted the Finals Festival concert series with mostly Aussie performers.

There are also 20+ smaller courts throughout the AO venue that hosted many other matches in the tournament’s earlier stages.

Weather

The AO is held during the summer months in Melbourne, and it is known for experiencing all four seasons in a day. You can get spring showers early in the day, scorching summer sun at noon, an autumn breeze at dusk, and winter cold at night. It is best to pack for all four seasons.

Locals told me this year was a slightly cooler summer at the AO versus previous years. I purchased a light AO hoodie and was glad I did because I needed it for my night games. For day sessions, sitting in seats exposed to the sun, pack a hat that covers your neck and plenty of sunscreen to avoid getting burned.

Umbrellas are not allowed to be opened inside the stadium, even if it is to shade you from the sun. If you have a day game ticket and are not seated in the shade but in the sun, dress appropriately. Wearing a thin, long-sleeve shirt and long pants can help avoid sunburn and keep you warm if you have night games to attend. However, dress for a 40-degree hot day, so checking the local forecast on your weather app the day of your matches is essential.

Food

There are more than enough food options (Indian, Italian, Mexican, American, etc.) available at the AO. I opted to bring some quick snacks due to the inflated prices for food at sporting events. Security checks your bags; the only restrictions are cans of drinks and alcohol.

Given the hot weather, get plenty of water at the many water stations throughout the venue. My hotel did not include breakfast, so I tried Australia’s version of Burger King, “Hungry Jacks.” I also visited an Aussie fine dining restaurant called Attica for their tasting menu, which I’ll post a full review of later.

Transportation

Public transit is very friendly, courtesy of the City of Melbourne. There is a free tram zone from my hotel, so from Flinder’s station, there is a free tram that goes directly to the AO. Similarly, at night, after the game, friendly staff or volunteers can direct you to where you can board the tram back to Flinders station. Be prepared for a bit of a lineup; it took me about 15 minutes to board my tram back to my hotel each night. The last tram leaves one hour after the end of the previous match.

My 2024 Australian Open Experience

Day 1

On my first day at the AO, I had a day session for the Women’s aQuarterfinalsterfinals: Linda Noskova (Czech Republic) vs. Dayana Yastremska (Ukraine) and Hubert Hurkacz (Poland) vs. Daniil Medvedev (Russian Federation, though the AO does not recognize the country due to the Ukraine invasion).

My ticket was in the lower bowl in a section exposed to the sun, which you know when you buy the ticket. These seats are some of the best in the house, but if the roof is open, you are exposed to the Aussie sun. The sun was at “extremely high” regarding UV exposure the day I was there, so lather up in sunscreen or get ready to be sunburned.

On a positive note, one of the sponsors gives away free 50 SPF suntan lotion all over the Tennis grounds. So, one less thing to pack is suntan lotion. However, this was the situation when I attended. So remember that if the sponsor changes, there may not be free suntan lotion.

Day 2

My second day was much different. I had the women’s and Men’s doubles Semifinals on my agenda. Coco Gauff (USA) vs. Aryana Sabalenka (Belarus, though the AO does not recognize the country due to the Ukraine invasion) was a rematch of last year’s (2023) US Open. The game lasted 1 hour and 42 minutes.

The second semifinal was between Qinmeng Zheng (China) and Dayana Yastremska (Ukraine). It was a well-played match, with Zheng winning 6-4, 6-4. The game also lasted 1 hour and 42 minutes.

I had a night’s session game. It rained throughout the day, so it differed from the first day. It got pretty cold, so I probably could have used a hoodie instead of just wearing a golf shirt.

Day 3

I had a day and night game for the Mixed Doubles Final and Men’s Semi-Final. Between games, I also caught some of the Men’s Wheelchair Doubles Finals in Kia Arena.

The Mixed Doubles Final featured the 3rd-seed team of Su-Wei Hsieh (Chinese Taipei) and Jan Zielinski (Poland) versus the 2nd-seed team of Desirae Krawczyk (USA) and Neal Skupski (UK). It went the distance, lasting almost 2 hours, with a third-set tiebreaker, and the 3rd seed upset the 2nd seed.

My first men’s semi saw Top Seed and defending champion Novak Djokovic (Serbia) vs. 4th seed Jannick Sinner (Italy). While I was hoping for Djokovic to win, Sinner fought off a match point in the third set to force a fourth set, but Grand Slam #25 for Djokovic wasn’t meant to be. The history-making match lasted 3 hours and 22 minutes.

 

My second men’s semi saw Daniil Medvedev (Russian Federation) vs. Alexander Zverev (Germany). Down two sets, Medvedev clawed back to win. The game lasted 4 hours and 18 minutes and was filled with amazing shots and rallies.

Day 4

Women’s Singles Final: Aryana Sabalenka (Belarus) vs Qinwen Zheng (China). Sabalenka cruised to a second straight Women’s Singles Title, 6-3, 6-2. It was the most lopsided match of my AO experience.

 

After the Women’s Final was the Men’s Doubles Final: Italy’s Simone Bolelli & Andrea Vavasorri took on the 2nd seeded team of India’s Rohan Bopanna & Australia’s Matthew Ebden. The 2nd seeded team won 7-6, 7-5, moving up to #1 on the world ranking with the win.

Day 5

Women’s Doubles Final: 2nd seed Elise Martins (Belgium) & Su-Wei Hsieh (Chinese Taipei) took on 11th seed Lyudmyla Kichenok (Ukraine) & Jelena Ostapenko (Latvia). The 2nd seed won 6-1, 7-5 in an hour and a half.

Men’s Singles Final: The main event featured third-seeded Daniil Medvedev vs. fourth-seeded Jannick Sinner. The sold-out stadium witnessed Sinner return from two sets down to win in five sets in a 3 hr, 44-minute marathon. It was my favourite match in the tournament.

Overall Impressions

My AO experience was amazing. The highlight was seeing Medvedev in back-to-back “come from 2 sets down” 5-set matches. The second highlight was the ease of getting into the venue by taking either the tram or walking to the venue itself.

Booking the tickets through Ticketmaster was easy. Flights were a bit of a challenge. United has some great routes to Australia, which bypasses having to take Air Canada (AC). AC’s dynamic pricing for award tickets from Canada to Australia can be expensive.

The AO venue was fun to walk through, with various food venues and souvenir shops. The outdoor space was well-designed, with enough space to relax and watch matches live on big screens. Melbourne did a great job hosting the Grand Slam, providing free transfers from the city center to the Tennis grounds and late-night tram services.

My Favorite Grand Slam

Having attended all four slams, it’s tough to pick a favourite. All four are memorable events held in major cities, and there is plenty to do outside the tournament.

From a ticket perspective, my top two favourites are the AO and the US Open because they use Ticketmaster. Regarding redemption flights, the AO was my least favourite due to the difficulty in finding award availability.

Accommodation-wise, Wimbledon was my favourite since I have family in London. Outside of that, staying at the Choice Hotel in Melbourne was a great find compared to redeeming Marriott or Hilton points.

Food at the venues is overpriced, but that’s expected at major sporting events. All tournaments allow fans to bring food and drinks into the stadiums and grounds (outside of alcohol).

I hope this post encourages you to attend these amazing tournaments using miles and points to offset transportation and accommodation costs. Thanks to Aeroplan, my return trip in business class flights was $310 CAD, and the hotel in the heart of Melbourne CBD was $563 CAD using points. So, under $900 for a 10-day vacation to Australia isn’t bad, don’t you think 😊

Game, Set, Match!! 🎾🥎