The annual Australian Open took place in Melbourne, Australia in January. It was the 111th year the tournament took place, and was definitely one to remember. Fan favorites and veteran winners like Djokovic and Sabalenka continued their theme of wins this year. Despite all the action, the tournament lacked the presence of 7 time Australian Open winner Serena Williams, who had competed in the tournament since 1998. Nevertheless, the tournament was filled with exciting matches as well as referee drama.

As for the men’s singles matches, Novak Djokovic took the victory. This was the Serb player’s tenth time winning this event. Djokovic beat Stefanos Tsitsipas, a Greek player who is only 24, despite the fact that Djokovic is 11 years his senior. This was Djokovic’s first time back at the Australian Open after his controversial exit in the 2022 tournament due to his failure to follow the tournament’s vaccination policy. Still, he made a memorable return to the 2023 tournament showing that he was better than ever with his major win.

Besides Djokovic’s big win, Aryna Sabalenka took the prize for the women’s singles event. This was the 24-year-old Belarusian player’s first Australian Open singles win. Prior to the 2023 tournament, Sabalenka had won the 2021 Australian Open doubles as well as titles in the US Open. Elena Rybakina, a Russian player, was Sabalenka’s opponent in the finals. Rybakina is the reigning champion of Wimbledon, making Sabalenka’s win even more impressive. 

The 2023 Australian Open was also home to some drama regarding the referees. Multiple players expressed their disappointment with this year’s referees. American player Alison Riske-Amritraj shared her opposition toward a referee’s controversial call in her doubles match. Riske-Amritraj apologized after accidentally hitting her opponent in the leg with the ball, and the referee used this apology as reasoning to award the point to her opponents since she had arguably caused a distraction. British player Andy Murray also found a bone to pick with the referees when he was denied a bathroom break. Murray outwardly told the referee that not being able to take a bathroom break was unreasonable and publicized the issue.

With all of the excitement stemming from Grand Slam wins to referee confrontations, the 2023 Australian Open was an entertaining start to the new year. Between now and next year’s Australian Open, tennis aficionados from around the world can tune into the other Grand Slam tournaments.