5 fun facts about the Australian Open

#2 Unique instances which took place in 1977 and 1986

Evonne Goolagong Cawley

The Australian Open was conducted in January from inception in 1905 till 1919. It was moved to March in 1920. Between 1923 to 1976, it was played in August.

What is truly interesting is that due to scheduling issues coupled with climate vagaries, the Australian Open had to be played twice in 1977. It was played first from 3rd January to 9th January. then later that year, the tournament was again held from 19th December to 31st December.

The tournament was scheduled during mid-December until 1985. The authorities again decided to schedule the tournament in mid-January. This meant the tournament couldn't be held at all in the year 1986. From 1987 onward, the dates have been relatively the same with the tournament starting in the 2nd week of January every year.