The Australian Open set a Grand Slam attendance record with 839,192 spectators visiting over three weeks beating the previous mark of 812,174 set in January 2020, organisers said on Tuesday, despite the absence of some big-name players and schedule disruptions due to rain.
The Melbourne Park event was the first tournament in two years free of COVID-19 restrictions.
The figures eclipse last year’s attendance numbers at other Grand Slam main draws – 515,164 visited Wimbledon, 613,500 were at the French Open and 776,120 went to the U.S. Open.
Over 60,000 also watched the qualifying events in Melbourne, bringing the total up to 902,312.
The tournament, missing the retired Serena Williams, Roger Federer and last year’s homegrown champion Ash Barty, broke its single-day attendance mark with 94,854 fans visiting on Jan. 21.
The previous record was 93,709 set in 2020.
