From 1905 to 1987, the Australian Open was played on grass courts.
In 1988, the tournament switched to hard courts, and that surface has remained in place to this day.
Prior to 1988, the tournament was held in Kooyong. However, the venue was moved because the Kooyong Stadium was unable to meet the demands of such a large sporting event.
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In 1987, the tournament was held in January [rather than December], meaning the likes of Stefan Edberg and Martina Navratilova – who reached their respective singles finals – contested the event a month later than they had been accustomed to.
This meant that there was no Australian Open tournament held in 1986.
Stefan Edberg and Hana Mandlikova won the 1987 Australian Open Men’s and Women’s Singles titles
Swedish legend Stefan Edberg was the last winner of an Australian Open Men’s Singles tournament contested on grass courts.
Edberg, a winner of six Grand Slam titles, defeated home favourite Pat Cash [pictured below] in the final, 6–3, 6–4, 3–6, 5–7, 6–3.
The triumph marked Edberg’s second title in Kooyong following his success in 1985.
Edberg went on to reach three more finals, in 1990, 1992 and 1993. He lost to Ivan Lendl in 1990 and Jim Courier in 1992 and 1993.
In the Australian Open Women’s Singles final, second seed Hana Mandlikova stunned top seed Martina Navratilova 7–5, 7–6. It was Mandlikova’s second Australian Open title and her fourth major triumph in total.
Neither Navratilova nor Mandlikova won the Australian Open Women’s Singles title after 1987.
Navratilova described the 1987 Australian Open final as her ‘worst for a long time’
After the final, Mandlikova could not hide her joy at having beaten one of the greatest players in tennis history.
“I am so thrilled to have beaten Martina today,” Mandlikova said, as per UPI.
“I respect her very much as a person and a player. I beat a legend out there today.”
Conversely, Navratilova was downbeat about her performance in the final.
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“I started to play badly before she started to play well,” she said.
“I never got it right with my serve or volley. I missed more first volleys out there than I missed in the entire championship.
“It’s the worst I’ve played in any final for a long time.”
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