MELBOURNE, Australia — Nicknamed the “Happy Slam” by Roger Federer, the Australian Open is the largest annual sporting event in the southern hemisphere, drawing the biggest names in tennis and record-breaking crowds from across the Pacific region.
Though now known as a premier event, it was not so long ago that the Open was considered a backwater. Played on grass courts — and offering little in the way of ranking points or prize money — it was seen by some as a poor copy of Wimbledon.
Today, the Open reflects a decades-long shift in Australian identity and politics, which reoriented the country away from Europe and toward its neighbors in Asia.