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Snapshot of 2016 Australian Open

Xinhua, January 15, 2016 Adjust font size:

Summer in Melbourne means a fortnight of top-level tennis at the Australian Open. Here are some key facts and figures for the year's first grand slam tournament:

Dates: Jan. 18-31, 2016

Venue: Melbourne Park, Victoria. Melbourne Park has three main courts - Rod Laver Arena, Hisense Arena and Margaret Court Arena, two show courts and 19 outside courts. The three main courts all have retractable roofs which enables both indoor and outdoor play, depending on the weather.

Surface: Plexicushion, an acrylic-based hard court surface.

Prize money: The men's and women's singles champions will take home 2.69 million U.S. dollars each - from a total prize pool of 31 million dollars (a 10 percent increase on 2015).

Referees: 360 chair umpires, lines persons and Hawkeye reviewers will be used.

Ballkids: 380

Media: more than 650 journalists, photographers and videographers from 283 media outlets.

Men's singles champions since 2011: 2015 Novak Djokovic, 2014 Stanislas Wawrinka, 2013 Novak Djokovic, 2012 Novak Djokovic, 2011 Novak Djokovic

Women's singles champions since 2011: 2015 Serena Williams, 2014 Li Na, 2013 Victoria Azarenka, 2012 Victoria Azarenka, 2011 Kim Clijsters

Crowds: The highest attendance across the two-week tournament is 703,899 (in 2015).

Tickets: Ground passes, which enable access to all outside courts and Hisense Arena, start from 28 dollars for the day session and 21 dollars for the night session. (Ticket prices for Rod Laver Arena and Margaret Court Arena are adjusted to reflect the category of seat and demand for the session.)

Heat policy: The extreme heat policy kicks in at 40 degrees Celsius/104 degrees Fahrenheit, when the tournament referee may suspend the commencement of any matches on outside courts. Any matches currently in progress will continue until the end of the current set. Endit