The Australian Open once again set a milestone in the world of tennis, establishing a new historical attendance record during its 2026 edition. With a cumulative total of 1,097,036 spectators throughout the event and 879,037 for the main draw, the tournament reaffirmed its status as one of the most popular sporting spectacles on the planet, according to the Argentine News Agency. With Carlos Alcaraz as one of the main attractions, the public response was massive from the start, even on days marked by extreme temperatures. With daily attendance figures approaching 100,000 and a record that surpassed one million spectators before the end of January, the Australian Open confirmed that its growth is unstoppable and its influence extends far beyond tennis.
Furthermore, the tournament consolidated its profile as a sporting and cultural festival, with offerings that included live music, high-level gastronomy, and multiple parallel activities throughout the Melbourne Park complex, broadening its appeal beyond the strictly sporting.
The impact of the Australian Open was also reflected in the economic sphere. According to official data, the previous edition generated 565.8 million Australian dollars for the economy of the state of Victoria, while projections for 2026 estimate that the impact could exceed 600 million (around 345 million euros), consolidating it as the largest economic generator in Australian sports. In the last decade, the tournament has contributed more than 3.46 billion Australian dollars to the local economy, a figure that explains its strategic importance for the region.
On the tenth day of the tournament, 43,750 attendees were recorded, distributed between the day and night sessions, despite some matches having to be suspended due to the intense heat, a situation mitigated by the retractable roofs of the main stadiums. Specialists and organizers agreed that the presence of the Spanish tennis player, a multiple Grand Slam champion, was decisive in ticket sales.
