Australian Open forced to make changes after fans queue for hours on opening day

Jack Snape at Melbourne Park Mon, 19 January 2026 at 4:53 am UTC·3 min read The Australian Open was forced to put more staff on the gates at Melbourne Park on Monday to cope with demand after a record-breaking attendance on the first day of the main draw. The 73,235 people who scanned in on Sunday exceeded the 68,883 who attended the middle Saturday of the 2019 Australian Open.Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement However, patrons had to put up with long queues at the security entry points and to access courts. Fans again waited in long queues on Monday morning, which had disappeared by lunchtime thanks to an increased deployment of...