Completing the fan Grand Slam

Visiting all four Grand Slams in a season is dream you can turn to reality.

Many fans will target the Grand Slams as their ultimate tennis travel experience – a dream that’s easier to realise than you might expect.

There are official tour operators associated with every Grand Slam event, providing fans with a one-stop spot to organise flights, accommodation and most important of all, your tickets to the tournament in question. As is the case with the Australian Open, which has more than 40 official tour operators, it’s best to refer to the official website of each event for details.

For Australian Open members or those with a State Association membership, tickets for the French Open and Wimbledon can occasionally be sourced through the Grand Slam ticket ballot operated by Tennis Australia – although with that ballot open for a short period beginning from 11 March, it’s an option that needs to be pursued early. Understandably, applications far exceed the small amount of tickets available, so while Tennis Australia makes every effort to allot to as many people as possible, there are no guarantees.

Being prepared is the best approach for every traveller and that’s especially true when it comes to sourcing your Grand Slam tickets. At the same time, don’t abandon the possibility of gaining last minute access if you happen to find yourself in the right city at the right time. Lining up with other similarly passionate fans is sometimes part of the experience – as Wimbledon’s famous queue demonstrates.

And remember that qualifying can be an equally valuable spectator experience as the main event. Aside from Wimbledon – where qualifying is contested at nearby Roehampton rather than the All England Club – that week before the main draw is a perfect time for you to absorb the atmosphere of the world’s most famous tennis stadiums (and we’d still recommend that you consider visiting Roehampton too).

Qualifying week is also a great time to connect with other fans and perhaps spot the Next Big Thing in the world game.

If there’s any drawback to Grand Slam travel, it’s that once you’ve experienced the game’s ultimate getaway, you’ll be itching to do it again. Still, we can’t think of a better tennis target than seeing the world’s best players competing for the world’s biggest prizes on tennis’ most famous stages.