Australian Open Tennis - Where Are The Champions Born?

WREXHAM, Wales - Jan. 16, 2018 - PRLog -- More than £2.3 million… AUS $4 million... That's the eyewatering amount the male and female champions at this year's Australian Tennis Open will earn.

The new year signals the start of Grand Slam tennis season, with the Australian Open serving up the first of the four major titles.

This year's event Down Under will have something of an unfamiliar feel with several of the sport's superstars unable to take part.

There's every chance it'll be a new name etched onto the trophies at the end of the month… But what does it take to be a champion?

Top 4 Australian Open Tennis Facts

1.       The United States is the birthplace of 13 men's and 13 women's singles champions since the start of the Open era, the most of any country

2.       Europe collectively produces the most champion players (25) and overall championship wins (50)

3.       The 1980s (for men) and 1990s (for women) produced the champions with the youngest average age

4.       New South Wales is Australia's top tennis breeding ground, producing 20 men's and women's singles champions based on all-time tournament records

Which Countries Produce The Most Australian Open Tennis Champions?

The 'Open era' when professionals were first allowed to compete in Grand Slam events started in 1968, with the first Australian Open under the new regime taking place in 1969.

Since then, the trophies have been reasonably equally shared between players born in the United States and the home nation of Australia.

8 male players born in the USA have shared 13 titles between them, including 4 times winner Andre Agassi.

Sweden has produced 3 champions (Mats Wilander, Stefan Edberg, and Thomas Johansson) who have won six Opens, a trophy haul matched by Serbia (thanks to Novak Djokovic alone), Switzerland (Federer's five trophies plus Wawrinka's one) and Australia (four players).

It's a closer contest comparing which country is the birthplace to most women's champions. America tops the list again, five players having won 13 championships. But Australia is a close runner-up with 10 victories accounted for by four players (Margaret Court and Evonne Goolagong Cawley winning four titles each).

Serbia again features prominently on the ranking, thanks to four-time winner Monica Seles who was born in Novi Sad in the former Yugoslavia, even though the powerful left-hander did represent the USA during the latter part of her career too.

Combining men's and women's winners, it's USA on top with 26 trophies ahead of Australia (16), Serbia (10), Czech Republic (8), and Germany (7).

Of course, the history of the Australian Open dates back to well before 1969. The first men's singles championship was staged in 1905, with the inaugural women's event in 1922.

And taking into account all-time records, its tables turned as Australia emerges on top with 24 men's champions and 15 women's, ahead of the USA (11 and 12 titles respectively) and the UK (4 men's and 3 women's) although Virginia Wade's 1972 triumph is the only Open era win in Australia by a Brit.

Country Of Birth – All-Time Australian Men's Singles Winners (since 1905)

1.       Australia (24)

2.       USA (11)

3.       UK (4)

4.       Sweden (3)

5.       Czech Republic, Russia & Switzerland (2)

Country Of Birth – All-Time Australian Women's Singles Winners (since 1922)

1.       Australia (15)

2.       USA (12)

3.       UK (3)

4.       Belgium, Czech Republic & Germany (2)

How Old Is The Average Australian Open Champion?

Does age matter Down Under? Are seasoned professionals more likely to emerge victorious, like Roger Federer last year, or is the calendar's curtain-raiser the perfect place for emerging talent to make their mark?

The youngest ever winner was Aussie ace Ken Rosewall who claimed the 1953 crown at the tender age of just 18 years and 2 months. In the Open era, Swedish ace Mats Wilander was just 19 and a quarter when he destroyed Ivan Lendl in straight sets in 1983.

Proving that he wasn't just a young pretender, Rosewall also holds the record for the oldest ever male winner, defying his 37 years and 4 months to take a fourth and final Aussie Open title in 1972.

Even though she was actually born in Slovakia, 'Swiss Miss' Martina Hingis is the youngest female player to win the championships. Her 1997 triumph, the first of three successive wins, occurred when she was just 16 years and 4 months old.

At 35 years 8 months, the 1954 winner Thelma Coyne Long is the oldest ever player to emerge victorious Down Under, with last year's victor Serena Williams the oldest in the Open era… Serena's triumph was all the more notable by the fact that she was in the early stages of pregnancy while claiming her 23rd Grand Slam title!

Where Do Most Australian Tennis Aces Come From?

Prior to professionalism and the Open era, it's no surprise to learn that home-based players usually triumphed in the tournament.

24 men and 15 women born in Australia have added their names to the list of winners.

But which particular part of Australia is tops for tennis?

New South Wales emerges as the top state for producing Australian Open champions with a terrific total of 20 tournament winners.

Taking just male players into account it's a tie-breaker between NSW and Victoria, each with nine champions. But with women's champions, it's New South Wales well out in front with 11 compared to Queensland and Victoria with two players each.

Read the full article, complete with infographics and interactive maps, here: https://www.networldsports.co.uk/blog/australian-open-tennis/

Early 2018 will see Net World Sports launch its new Vermont tennis range.

From ITF standard nets, tennis post packages to suit all playing surfaces, and training equipment such as tennis ball machines to work on those forehands and backhands, Vermont is geared to take your game to the next level.

If the Australian Open inspires you to take to the courts, join in the fun on social with the hashtag #VermontACE