The Australian Open is the only Grand Slam

Grand Slam (tennis)

The four Major tennis tournaments, also called the Slams, are the most important tennis events of the year in terms of world tour ranking points, tradition, prize-money awarded, strength and size of player field, and public attention. They are the Australian Open, the French Open, Wimbledon, and...

 tennis

Tennis

Tennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...

 tournament

Tournament

A tournament is a competition involving a relatively large number of competitors, all participating in a sport or game. More specifically, the term may be used in either of two overlapping senses:...

 held in the southern hemisphere. The tournament was held for the first time in 1905 and was last contested on grass

Grass court

A grass court is one of the four different types of tennis court. Grass courts are made of rye grass in different compositions depending on the tournament...

 in 1987. Since 1972 the Australian Open has been held in Melbourne

Melbourne

Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...

, Victoria

Victoria (Australia)

Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively....

. In 1988, the tournament became a hard court event. It is currently held at Melbourne Park

Melbourne Park

Melbourne Park is a sports venue in the Melbourne Sports and Entertainment Precinct in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Since 1988, Melbourne Park has been home of the Australian Open in tennis, which is played annually in January...

. The tournament is held in Melbourne

Melbourne

Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...

 in the Australian summer, in the last fortnight of the month of January; an extreme-heat policy

Extreme heat policy

The Extreme Heat Policy is a rule pertaining to the Australian Open . It was introduced in 1998 after consultation with a number of tennis players. :...

 is put into play when temperatures reach dangerous levels.

The two main courts used in the tournament are Rod Laver Arena

Rod Laver Arena

Rod Laver Arena is a tennis stadium that is part of the Melbourne Park complex located in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, and has been the main venue for the Australian Open in tennis since 1988, replacing the ageing Kooyong Stadium...

 and Hisense Arena and feature retractable roofs, which are shut during rain or extreme heat.