Is the AO still the 4th Slam

Wilsonpro

Rookie
Personally i love the AO and think its innovative and fan friendly albeit RLA doesnt have the aura or gravitas of Ashe.

However judging from some of the pretty fierce and disrespectful comments by players which is unusual before an event begins, one wonders whether it is still considered below the other three, which rarely get criticism from the players until after an event.
 

van_Loederen

Professional
RG has surpassed the USO, i feel. and that the AO have almost caught up with the USO.

i mean my impression of their popularity worldwide. thanks to poly and RAFA, RG has definitely gained in popularity. during the 90s it was a little boring.
the 2 hardcourt Slams have altered now even swapped court specifics/speed, thus put more attention to the fact that there are 2 pretty similar Slams.
the AO have still gained in popularity though, for some other reasons and because they have had most room for improvement.
 
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Deleted member 769694

Guest
AO > Wimbledon > Uso > French

Hopefully this years greed wont hurt AO's reputation to much.

French is still by far the worst, they made Ferrer played 2hours and 1 min in the rain so they didnt have to give a ticket refund. Uso is pretty crappy as well with tickets.
 

Jonesy

Legend
All have the same value, each fan has their subjective preference but that's it. The ones i like more follow this order: AO, RG, WIM, USO.
 

stringertom

Bionic Poster
When I lived in NYC, USO was #1 not just to me due to proximity but to the growth for the sport. Slew Hester was GOAT USTA president, overseeing the escape from the snotty elitism of Forest Hills and transferring it to the Flushing complex. That’s when tennis took off. More attendance, more courts, more TV time.

AO became much more relevant when TennisAustralia did the same thing a decade or so later and escaped Kooyong for Flinders Park.

The other two slams have benefited so much from these moves by USTA/TA but have taken an agonizingly long time to upgrade their facilities. I like to watch matches on TV from SW19 and RG but I doubt going there live is as good an experience as a day at either Flushing or Melbourne Park. For those reasons:

1. USO
2. AO
3. Wimby
4. RG
 

KINGROGER

G.O.A.T.
AO for me is now the premier slam along win Wimbledon.

USO downgraded ever since they put the roof on and slowed the courts.
 

Zoid

Hall of Fame
PLayers often say AO is the best organise for players - smoke from one freak year shouldnt cloud that. Wimby for me is the holy grail - never been to US or French so cannot comment on those two
 
Its an event...

The only four events that have any kind of significance in history are simple

Wimbledon, US Open, Cincy, YEC/WTF

Those are the big 4. Across all and every generations.

The best at the big 4 = the best
 
In terms of prestige, I think the Australian open is a little below the US Open and French open which are below Wimbledon for historical reasons.

In terms of the actual tournament today, I think Australian is absolutely the equal of the others.

For me personally, I like Wimbledon the most and then the US open, with French and Australian tied.
 
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Deleted member 769694

Guest
yeah USO is horrible to watch on TV, and always has been

Not always, they were the first to stream tennis on their site. You actually got to pick your court, ibm did a heck of a job. Was like 10-15yrs ago, very early tech
 

Mike Sams

G.O.A.T.
I don't find Wimbledon much fun to watch. Probably because it's like only 3 weeks after Roland Garros.
AO is my favourite Slam and by far the most fun to watch, especially as it starts the year off with a bang. I hope we get awesome epic matches.
 

ForehandCross

G.O.A.T.
No.


USO is almost no longer a tennis event. They have commercialized the heck out of it.

AO is on the rise, quality wise it was the most consistent in last decade.


It's USO imo that's relegated. RG is losing prestige too so is WB but USO's fall is just that much more noticeable.
 

ChrisRF

Legend
In terms of prestige, I think the Australian open is a little below the US Open and French open which are below Wimbledon for historical reasons.
I don’t think this kind of prestige still exists among today’s players. Maybe Wimbledon is still on top, but even that seems to be shrinking.

I doubt there are players today who would explicitly rather win US Open than Australian Open "for prestige reasons". I guess there was a time when "being able to do it in America" generally was equivalent to reaching the pinnacle in about anything, but these days are over as well.
 

MichaelNadal

Bionic Poster
Who you got winning the big fight on Saturday between McGregor and Cerrone?

Connor is bae af. I wish he'd stop fighting and go to WWE lol. Idk much about Cerrone at all.

3d6a8f02-3433-11ea-9400-58350050ee52_image_hires_170619.jpg
 

StrongRule

Talk Tennis Guru
AO for me is now the premier slam along win Wimbledon.

USO downgraded ever since they put the roof on and slowed the courts.
We all know the real reason why you hate USO. It has nothing to do with the courts. If Nadal wins another AO you will start hating it as well.
 

OldschoolKIaus

Hall of Fame
I like how the prestige of slams (except for no 1 WIM) kinda changes over time.

Back in the days AO flew pretty much under the radar compared to the other three slams.
And basically nobody cared about FO until Fedr and Djoko wanted it for their career grand slam, no?
USO was so high and mighty before it became a slow hc and more of a last man standing competition after a tough season.
 
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Deleted member 763691

Guest
This year's mistreatment of players should prevent Australia from ever hosting a slam ever again.
What a disgrace.
3 slams is enough :)
 

Pitti

Rookie
Wimbledon is the most classical Grand Slam, and winning it is the dream of every tennis player. It's the only slam that is a bit more relevant than the rest even if it awards the same points than the other three. The grass court, the white clothing and their own traditions create a very particular atmosphere that makes it really special. Grass tennis is a heritage that we should take care of. It's also a shame that there's not a single Masters 1000 on grass.

Roland Garros is also a very special tournament. Clay tennis is very relevant and has its own beauty. Traditionally opposite to grass tennis, the long points, the sliding on the courts, the point construction and strategy make it also very special.

But in my opinion, both the AO and the USO should try something to differentiate one from the another. They have both been trying to update their image, and that's great. But being both hard court slams, I think they should try to take opposite directions. If one goes for a slower, higher bouncing court, the other one should go for a fast, low bouncing one. If one uses a light coloured court, the other one should make it darker. They also need to differentiate themselves from the other hard-court tournaments. I like both of them (maybe I enjoy the USO a bit more than the AO), but I think they are a step below Wimbledon and RG, not because of true relevance, but because they need more identity. An uninformed spectator who watches an excerpt of an AO or USO match will probably doubt if that's a GS, a masters, an ATP/Davis cup or whatever. If he watches a Wimbledon match, he will have no doubt.
 

Pheasant

Legend
Historically, I’d go:
Wimbledon
FO
USO
AO

When Nadal was 16, he was asked what his dream was. He said it was to win Wimbledon. This is what most players say when they are about to become pro.

Wimbledon is the kingpin tourney.
 

kevaninho

Hall of Fame
AO is up there for me. I like them all, although probably the USO for me is my least favourite.
Its probably the one ive seen least of in recent years with the time difference here.
I always look forward to the AO starting, maybe its because it kicks off the season, but for me its a great tournament, and one id love to attend one day.
 

Powderwombat

Semi-Pro
AO is the best slam with Wimbledon. USO is the worst by a country mile. To me the USO feels the least important. Maybe half as important as the other 3. It's just a worse version of the AO.
 

Elektra

Professional
The Aussie has been getting a lot of corporate sponsors to catch up with the other three and they are trying to get more commericalism but due to far away location and time difference, the Aussie is not going to be as popular. I know it is fan favorite but in terms of business modeling, the USO is the most ideal grandslam.

French Open is not ideal and has fallen off, it was never popular to begin with it just held on to old traditions.

USO is the most important grandslam

  • It is centrally located, and it brings largest amount of people who come from different countries.
  • It is during the large part of the summer season and people take their last summer vacations around August.
  • The prize money, the USO has the largest prize money and it is the most rewarding.
  • It is a slam that rewards underdogs and therefore it is more unpredictable and exciting.
  • The diversity, NYC is a diverse city and that culture translate at USO
  • The energy is different, it is invigorating and the players love the atomsphere.
  • It has created more stars/champions than any other grandslam the past decade.
  • NYC is the big stage where it is both the financial, advertising, marketing hub and it is easy to be discoverable at USO.
  • Players can rack up sponsors at the USO, Naomi Osaka's career took off due to her winning USO not the Aussie Open.
  • Entertainment and big deals happen at USO
  • Your season does not count if you do not show up at the USO, a lot of points to gain and it is important to do well at USO to give you an edge going into the season in terms of draws.
  • Regardless of what people think USO is very fan friendly, it is cheaper than other grandslams and it brings in more revenue then other grandslams
  • It is the stressless tournament, the players have gotten through the season and they can relax and just play their best at this tournament.
 

Big_Dangerous

Talk Tennis Guru
I thought it was the 1st slam. You know, January.

I was thinking the exact same thing. It's the first slam of the year, it starts in the first month of the year, not sure what else it needs to be considered the first slam. In terms of popularity, maybe there's an argument to be made, but I think each slam is unique in it's own way.
 

Elektra

Professional
When I lived in NYC, USO was #1 not just to me due to proximity but to the growth for the sport. Slew Hester was GOAT USTA president, overseeing the escape from the snotty elitism of Forest Hills and transferring it to the Flushing complex. That’s when tennis took off. More attendance, more courts, more TV time.

AO became much more relevant when TennisAustralia did the same thing a decade or so later and escaped Kooyong for Flinders Park.

The other two slams have benefited so much from these moves by USTA/TA but have taken an agonizingly long time to upgrade their facilities. I like to watch matches on TV from SW19 and RG but I doubt going there live is as good an experience as a day at either Flushing or Melbourne Park. For those reasons:

1. USO
2. AO
3. Wimby
4. RG

Exactly, Aussie Open is okay but to me, I don't think it will ever be that popular due to location. To me it is more an event for the local Aussies but not a grandslam event.
 

BeatlesFan

Bionic Poster
USO is the most important grandslam
  • It is a slam that rewards underdogs and therefore it is more unpredictable and exciting.
This is just a load of rubbish. Look at this list and name the "underdogs" who won the USO in the past 50 years. Every single name on this list (except 4 men- Orantes, Del Potro, Cilic and Stan) were ranked #1 at one point in their career. So please explain how the USO 'rewards underdogs?'

tennisl.jpg

tennis.jpg
 

Phoenix1983

G.O.A.T.
The Aussie has been getting a lot of corporate sponsors to catch up with the other three and they are trying to get more commericalism but due to far away location and time difference, the Aussie is not going to be as popular. I know it is fan favorite but in terms of business modeling, the USO is the most ideal grandslam.

French Open is not ideal and has fallen off, it was never popular to begin with it just held on to old traditions.

USO is the most important grandslam

  • It is centrally located, and it brings largest amount of people who come from different countries.
  • It is during the large part of the summer season and people take their last summer vacations around August.
  • The prize money, the USO has the largest prize money and it is the most rewarding.
  • It is a slam that rewards underdogs and therefore it is more unpredictable and exciting.
  • The diversity, NYC is a diverse city and that culture translate at USO
  • The energy is different, it is invigorating and the players love the atomsphere.
  • It has created more stars/champions than any other grandslam the past decade.
  • NYC is the big stage where it is both the financial, advertising, marketing hub and it is easy to be discoverable at USO.
  • Players can rack up sponsors at the USO, Naomi Osaka's career took off due to her winning USO not the Aussie Open.
  • Entertainment and big deals happen at USO
  • Your season does not count if you do not show up at the USO, a lot of points to gain and it is important to do well at USO to give you an edge going into the season in terms of draws.
  • Regardless of what people think USO is very fan friendly, it is cheaper than other grandslams and it brings in more revenue then other grandslams
  • It is the stressless tournament, the players have gotten through the season and they can relax and just play their best at this tournament.

Are you American by any chance?

No way is the USO more important than Wimbledon, and these days, it's no more important than the other two either.
 

guitarra

Professional
It's in January since late 80-ties so it's actually 1st not 4th. Used to be 4th when played in December.
 

Bartelby

Bionic Poster
Good answer. Australia managed to corner a far better slot in the season by shifting its slam into the new year. Despite the fact it is hotter ... and smokier.

It's in January since late 80-ties so it's actually 1st not 4th. Used to be 4th when played in December.
 
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