Next month, Roger Federer will return to Melbourne Park for the first time since 2022 to participate in a new event being launched by Tennis Australia.
2026 will be the first year the Grand Slam has an opening ceremony, which aims to celebrate the achievements of past champions of the event before crowning the new winners. Federer, who won six out of his 20 major titles at the Australian Open, will be honored. During his career, the Swiss maestro made 21 consecutive main draw appearances in Melbourne, producing a win-loss record of 102-15. The only other Grand Slam where he achieved over 100 wins was at Wimbledon, where he recorded 105 victories.
Under current plans, part of the ceremony will feature Federer playing in a ‘Battle of the World No.1s’ match alongside Andre Agassi, Pat Rafter and Lleyton Hewitt. The 44-year-old has recently expressed a desire to participate in more exhibition events in the future.
“It feels like a lifetime ago that I coined the phrase the ‘Happy Slam’ for the Australian Open, and it still makes me smile when I think about all the moments I’ve had here,” Federer said in a statement.
“I’ve experienced so many emotions on Rod Laver Arena … the joy of lifting ‘Norman’ six times, the honour of playing in front of Rod Laver himself, the challenge of competing against my biggest rivals, and always the overwhelming love and support of the Australian fans.
“Coming back to win the AO in 2017 is one of my most treasured Grand Slam memories and backing it up to win in 2018 was another dream come true in Melbourne. I can’t wait to come down under again to the AO and create more fantastic moments with all the Aussie fans.”
Tickets for the opening ceremony are set to start from AUS$149 (roughly £75). It will take place on Saturday, 17 January, a day before the main draw begins.
“I’m thrilled we’re introducing this very special AO Opening Ceremony,” Tournament Director Craig Tiley said.
“This inaugural Opening Ceremony will mark the start of a new tennis season in spectacular fashion. I can’t wait to see Roger back on Rod Laver Arena, along with other greats of the game Andre, Pat and Lleyton. And I know fans across Australia will be just as excited to share this moment with him.” He added.
Tennis Australia’s announcement comes just weeks after they launched their 1 Point Slam, which will take place before the Australian Open. 48 players will take part in the event, which will be a mixture of pros, amateurs and celebrity wildcards. The one-day showdown will be made up of one-point matches with Jannik Sinner, Carlos Alcaraz and Nick Kyrgios among those taking part. £498,000 (AUD$1m) will be given to the champion.
