10 lesser known facts about the Australian Open

#6 The tournament used to be played on grass courts until 1987

The Australian Open used to be played on grass courts until 1987

Ever since its inception in 1905, the Australian Open was played on grass courts and this trend continued for 82 years till the 1987 tournament, following which the tournament underwent a surface change from hard courts to grass courts.

In 1988, the Green Rebound Ace hard court surface was used in the tournament and it went on to be used till 2007. This surface was then replaced by the Blue Plexicushion hard court surface and was first used in 2008. Since then, this surface has always been used in all of the Australian Open tournaments and is yet to be replaced.