The secret is out: how Australian Open helped usher in three-week slam festivals

Tumaini Carayol at Melbourne Arena Thu, 15 January 2026 at 1:10 pm UTC·5 min read During the early days of the US Open singles main draw last year, the tournament director, Stacey Allaster, was holding court with a small group of journalists ina suite overlooking Arthur Ashe Stadium. Much of the discussion centred on the revamped mixed doubles tournament, which had dominated the tennis discourse for days. With a smile, Allaster explained the amount of work that had gone into the event and cited the final attendance numbers throughout the week it was held. The US Open, she asserted, is now a three-week event. For many years, the traditional grand slam fortnight was preceded by a nondescript...