Auckland Open

History of Auckland Open Tennis: From 1956 to the Modern ASB Classic

1956: The beginning of international tennis in Auckland

The history of the Auckland Open Tennis tournament began in 1956, when an international tennis invitational was established at Stanley Street in Auckland. Organised by the Auckland Lawn Tennis Association, the event laid the foundations for what would become one of New Zealand’s longest-running international sporting competitions. The tournament initially operated as a combined men’s and women’s event, giving local spectators the opportunity to watch international tennis talent compete in their own city.

The event was originally played on grass courts, reflecting the traditional playing surfaces of tennis during the middle of the twentieth century. Grass rewarded players who could serve effectively, approach the net confidently and react quickly to low, skidding bounces. It also demanded considerable adaptability, as the ball behaved differently from the way it would on the hard courts that later became standard at Auckland.

The women’s inaugural champion in 1956 was Australia’s Mary Bevis Hawton. Her victory established an early pattern of strong Australian representation in the tournament’s women’s competition. Australian players continued to feature prominently in the following decades, reflecting the close sporting connections between Australia and New Zealand and the strength of Australian tennis during that era.

1959–1960: Ruia Morrison makes New Zealand tennis history

One of the most significant figures in the early history of Auckland Open Tennis was Ruia Morrison, the New Zealand player who won the women’s singles title in 1959 and 1960. Her victories were particularly important because she remains the only New Zealand woman to have won the tournament’s women’s singles title, according to the WTA’s historical account.

Morrison was also a trailblazer beyond Auckland. A Māori tennis pioneer, she became the first Māori player to compete at Wimbledon and reached the quarter-finals there. Her achievements helped establish her as one of the most important figures in New Zealand tennis history. At a time when international sporting opportunities were more restricted than they are today, her success demonstrated that players from New Zealand could compete with leading international opponents.

Her Auckland victories remain an important part of the tournament’s identity. Although international stars have won the title across subsequent generations, Morrison’s achievement continues to represent a distinctive connection between the competition and its host country.

1960s: International recognition and a changing tennis landscape

During the 1960s, the Auckland tournament developed its international profile and competed under several names, including the Auckland Wills International. Its evolution reflected the growing commercial importance of professional sport and the increasing influence of sponsorship on tournament organisation.

The period also overlapped with a major transformation in tennis worldwide. Before the Open Era, which began in 1968, the sport maintained a division between amateur players and professionals, limiting which competitors could enter certain major events. The transition to Open Era tennis allowed amateurs and professionals to compete against each other in eligible tournaments, changing the structure of the international game.

Auckland’s tournament became part of this evolving landscape. From 1969, it was known as the New Zealand Open and operated under sponsored names associated with Benson & Hedges. Sponsorship helped provide the commercial support needed to attract competitors and maintain an established international event.

1970s: Famous champions and the move to hard courts

The 1970s strengthened the tournament’s reputation as a destination for accomplished players. Its historical roll of honour includes renowned Australian champions Roy Emerson and Rod Laver, alongside other internationally recognised figures such as Margaret Court and Evonne Goolagong. Their appearances connected Auckland with the golden generations of Australian tennis and gave local audiences opportunities to watch players whose reputations extended far beyond New Zealand.

One of the most consequential changes in the tournament’s development came in 1978, when the competition switched from outdoor grass courts to hard courts. This change altered the playing conditions and brought Auckland more closely into line with the hard-court environment used at the Australian Open.

Hard courts generally produce a more consistent bounce than grass, although speed varies according to the court’s construction and surface treatment. The change made the tournament’s playing conditions more relevant to the preparation of competitors heading towards Melbourne. It also encouraged a broader range of playing styles, from aggressive baseline hitting to serve-and-volley tennis.

Between 1979 and 1989, the men’s tournament formed part of the Grand Prix tennis circuit, an important predecessor to the modern ATP Tour structure. The Grand Prix circuit helped organise elite men’s competition across multiple international events and provided players with a more structured season of professional tournaments.

1980s: Separate men’s and women’s competitions

The Auckland tournament underwent another significant organisational change in the early 1980s. After the combined event period, the men’s and women’s competitions became separate tournaments, with the women’s event continuing under the Auckland Open name and various sponsorship arrangements. The women’s competition developed its own identity and later became known as the WTA Auckland Open.

During this period, the tournament’s name changed several times as different sponsors became associated with the event. Names used over the decades included the New Zealand Open, Auckland Open and, on the women’s side, the Nutri-Metics Open. These changes were not unusual in professional tennis, where title sponsorship frequently shaped a tournament’s official branding.

The competition nevertheless retained its Auckland home and its position in the Southern Hemisphere’s summer tennis calendar. The venue on Stanley Street remained central to the tournament’s identity, linking its modern professional format to the original 1956 invitational.

1990s: The rise of the ASB Classic name

The women’s event continued through the 1990s under several sponsorship names, including the Amway Classic. In 1997, the ASB Classic name was adopted for the women’s tournament, establishing a brand that would become closely associated with Auckland’s professional tennis tradition.

The 1990s were also a period of major change in international tennis, with increasingly global player fields, professional coaching teams and greater commercial visibility. Auckland benefited from its early-season position, offering players a competitive environment in which to prepare for the Australian Open without the scale and pressure of a Grand Slam event.

The tournament’s reputation rested not only on its champions but also on its practical role within the calendar. Players needed competitive matches after the off-season, and Auckland offered a chance to test fitness, tactics and confidence against international opposition. A strong week could provide a welcome boost; a disappointing one could reveal precisely how much work remained before Melbourne.

2000–2010: A proving ground for major stars

During the early twenty-first century, the Auckland Open continued to attract leading players and future champions. The men’s and women’s events retained their respective tournament structures, while the ASB Classic brand became increasingly familiar to tennis audiences.

Roger Federer appeared in Auckland as a 17-year-old in 1999, competing on the back courts and losing in the first round. In hindsight, that modest beginning offers a reminder that even the greatest careers can include unremarkable early results. A future record-breaking champion does not necessarily arrive with fireworks and a personalised entrance song.

Rafael Nadal also featured in Auckland, reaching his first ATP Tour final there in 2004 before losing to Dominik Hrbatý. That milestone formed part of Nadal’s early development on the professional circuit, before he went on to become one of the most successful players in tennis history.

These appearances helped give Auckland a reputation as a tournament where fans might see a major talent before that player’s career reached its peak. The event’s position ahead of the Australian Open also meant that established stars could use it as a practical test of their preparation for the season’s first Grand Slam.

2011–2015: Established champions and the Serena Williams era

The early 2010s continued to deliver memorable champions. On the men’s side, Spain’s David Ferrer became one of the tournament’s most successful players, winning the Auckland title four times. His victories demonstrated the value of consistency and competitive intensity on the hard courts, and his Auckland success formed part of a career that included deep runs at major tournaments.

Venus Williams became another major figure in the tournament’s history. She visited Auckland seven times and won the women’s singles title, becoming a popular presence among local spectators. Her connection with the tournament also helped bring her younger sister Serena Williams to Auckland.

In 2015, ASB became the naming-rights sponsor of both the men’s and women’s tournaments, an important step towards a more unified identity. The sponsorship arrangement helped strengthen the brand and set the stage for the competitions to be brought together again under the ASB Classic banner.

2016: The men’s and women’s events reunite

A major turning point arrived in 2016, when the men’s and women’s tournaments were brought together again under the ASB Classic name after 34 years of separate competition. The unified identity restored Auckland’s position as a combined professional tennis destination, with men’s ATP Tour and women’s WTA Tour events forming part of the same tournament period.

The men’s competition became an ATP 250 event, a category within the ATP Tour in which the singles champion earns 250 ranking points. The women’s tournament became part of the WTA Tour’s corresponding International-level structure, which was later replaced by the modern WTA 250 category as the women’s tour classification system evolved.

The reunion reinforced the tournament’s appeal to a broad audience. Fans could follow both men’s and women’s tennis at the same venue, while Auckland retained its role as an early-season stop for players preparing for the Australian Open.

2020: Serena Williams wins in Auckland

One of the most memorable recent chapters came in January 2020, when Serena Williams won the women’s singles title at the ASB Classic. It was her first singles title since becoming a mother in 2017 and a particularly meaningful achievement in the context of her return to competition after childbirth.

Williams defeated fellow American Jessica Pegula in the final, winning 6–3, 6–4. The victory was the 73rd singles title of her professional career. She also donated her tournament winnings to Australian bushfire relief efforts, adding a charitable dimension to an already significant sporting moment.

The Auckland title ultimately became the final WTA singles title of Williams’s career. Although she continued competing afterwards, she did not win another WTA singles tournament. This gave the 2020 championship an enduring place in the history of the ASB Classic and in the wider story of one of tennis’s most influential champions.

2021–2022: The disruption caused by COVID-19

The global COVID-19 pandemic disrupted the international tennis calendar and prevented the ASB Classic from running in its usual form in 2021 and 2022. International travel restrictions, public-health requirements and the practical difficulties of staging an international sporting event during the pandemic made the tournament’s normal operation impossible during those years.

The absence interrupted a tradition that had continued for decades, but it also demonstrated how closely professional tennis depends on international travel and coordinated tournament schedules. Players, officials, coaches and support staff routinely cross borders to compete, making the sport particularly vulnerable to restrictions on movement.

The tournament returned in January 2023, restoring Auckland’s place on the early-season tennis calendar and giving fans the opportunity to welcome international competition back to Stanley Street.

2023–2024: Coco Gauff makes history

American player Coco Gauff won the women’s singles title in Auckland in both 2023 and 2024. Her first victory came in January 2023, when she defeated Spain’s Rebeka Masarova in the final, 6–1, 6–1. The result was an emphatic start to her season and reinforced her growing reputation as one of the leading young players in women’s tennis.

Gauff returned in 2024 and successfully defended her title, defeating Elina Svitolina in the final, 6–7(4), 6–3, 6–3. The comeback victory underlined her resilience and tactical maturity, particularly after losing the opening set.

Winning consecutive editions placed Gauff among the tournament’s notable champions and highlighted the value of Auckland as an early-season destination for top-ranked players. Her performances also illustrated the event’s continuing ability to attract emerging stars who are capable of winning the biggest titles in the sport.

2025: Gaël Monfils and Clara Tauson take the titles

The 2025 ASB Classic produced two more notable singles champions. French veteran Gaël Monfils won the men’s title, defeating Belgium’s Zizou Bergs in the final. The victory was particularly memorable because Monfils brought his trademark athleticism and entertaining shot-making to Auckland, delighting fans with a style that combines elite movement and showmanship.

On the women’s side, Denmark’s Clara Tauson won the singles title, defeating Japan’s Naomi Osaka in the final. Tauson’s victory added another international name to the tournament’s honour roll and continued the ASB Classic’s tradition of providing a competitive platform for players with ambitions for the season ahead.

The 2025 edition also illustrated the tournament’s continued relevance to players at different stages of their careers. Monfils represented the experience and creativity of a veteran competitor, while Tauson’s success reflected the ambitions of a younger generation seeking to establish itself among the sport’s elite.

2026: Elina Svitolina wins and the tournament reaches new heights

In 2026, the ASB Classic celebrated a record-breaking edition, with the organisers reporting the most successful tournament in its history in terms of attendance and overall event performance. Across 15 days of tennis at Manuka Doctor Arena, the event attracted record crowds, sold-out sessions and strong interest in its wider entertainment and hospitality offering.

Ukraine’s Elina Svitolina won the women’s singles championship, defeating China’s Wang Xinyu in the final. The victory gave Svitolina the 19th singles title of her career and added another major achievement to her record at the beginning of the new season.

The 2026 tournament also benefited from improvements to spectator facilities, including additional seating around the central court. These changes reflected the event’s growing popularity and the organisers’ efforts to accommodate larger crowds while improving the experience for fans.

As of October 2026, the next ASB Classic is scheduled for 4–16 January 2027, according to Tennis Auckland. The event continues to bring the men’s ATP Tour and women’s WTA Tour to Auckland, maintaining a tradition that began with the 1956 international invitational.