January in Melbourne can only mean one thing – it’s tennis time!
The world’s top tennis players hit the courts, and today they were joined by the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, SpongeBob SquarePants, and other Nickelodeon characters and entertainers for some fun on centre court at the Kids Tennis Day Rod Laver Arena Spectacular; A fantastic prequel to the Australian Open.
We headed on down to Melbourne Park which was buzzing with families enjoying the sunny day. There was a ton of kids entertainment on offer, including stage shows, tennis activities and even a chance to watch some professional practice and qualifying sessions.
Emma was pretty excited to meet SpongeBob & Patrick, and had some fun doing some tennis exercise drills in the ANZ Tennis Hot Shots Fan Zone.
But the highlight was the Rod Laver Arena Spectacular, an hour of music, dancing and crazy tennis antics by some of the world’s top players. Roger Federer, Caroline Wozniacki and Lleyton Hewitt battled Novak Djokovic, Victoria Azarenka and Milos Raonic in the goofiest tennis game ever. There were giant racquets, multiple balls, soccer headers and ninja moves.
It was really entertaining to watch these top players just having a bit of fun and I must say Novak Djokovic is quite entertaining, he certainly has a bright career on the comedy circuit if he ever finds the tennis circuit gets old.
Emma’s verdict: Best day ever! She has become an instant fan of the game, I just hope the neighbour doesn’t mind the huge barrage of balls that will be headed over the fence in the coming days.
With tickets to the annual Kids Tennis Day around only $15 for adults and FREE for kids, I’m definitely putting this event on our must do list next summer.
You may have missed the Kids Tennis Day but there is lots more free entertainment on offer this year for families at the Australian Open Festival. Birrarung Marr on the banks of the Yarra will feature Kids’ World, so head on down these school holidays.
Kids’ World at Australian Open Festival
Birrarung Marr
open daily from 18 to 31 January
9.00 am and 7.00 pm