Less than an hour into day one at the 2025 Australian Open tennis tournament and a big thunderstorm rolled across Melbourne.
And the intermittent heavy rain stuck around till late in the afternoon.
Screenshot of a weather app showing a severe thunderstorm warning with heavy rainfall expected for most of Melbourne city and surrounds.
Fortunately, Nadia and I got there just as the gates opened, so we managed to watch at least a little bit of tennis on the outside courts before the rain came.
Importantly, we managed to take our annual Australia Open selfie :)
Here are my photos (and selfies!) from the day.
Court-side camera operator
Photo looking down from the stands at a video camera operator sitting on the side of a blue-coloured, hard-surface tennis court. The operator is wearing a cap and a bulky pair of headphones, and there is a small, blue umbrella over his head. The camera has a waterproof cover on it.
Umpire and ball kids
Photo looking down at the net of a blue-coloured, hard-surface tennis court. Two ball kids are standing on either end of the net, and a tennis umpire is sitting on a raised chair at the far end of the net.
Tatjana Maria’s ball toss
Photo of tennis player Tatjana Maria who has just tossed a tennis ball into the air as part of her serve.
Watching the first round match
This photo was entirely accidental! I was trying to get a photo of the player framed between the out-of-focus heads of the people sitting in front of me (which I managed to do in the next photo). But when taking this photo, I’d mistakenly left my camera on its ‘zone focus’ setting and it picked the wrong subject to focus on. Oh well. Even though this photo was an accident, it was a happy one because I quite like how the photo turned out :)
Photo of the back and side of a woman and her young daughter watching a women’s singles tennis match.
Tatjana Maria’s service
Photo of tennis player Tatjana Maria at full stretch as she serves the ball on a blue-coloured, hard-surface tennis court.
Ball kid retrieving the ball
Photo looking down from the stands at a blue-coloured, hard-surface tennis court. One of the ball kids is running up to retrieve a ball from the middle of the left-side court.
Orange shoe and dropped corn snacks
Photo looking down between the spectator chairs at a tennis arena. The subject of the photo is the foot of a person wearing grey-and-white New Balance sneakers with bright orange highlights. Next to this shoe are two orange corn kernels that have been dropped on the concrete.
Airplane disappearing into the clouds above Melbourne
Photo of a small jet engine aircraft flying above some tall buildings on an overcast day. The aircraft is climbing and is about to disappear into the cloud cover.
Thunderstorm less than an hour into the first day’s play
Photo of the outside of a tennis arena with large photo banners set along its side showing past championship winners. The outside area is almost completely empty of spectators because it is raining heavily. Despite the heavy rain, ushers wearing black pants and yellow shirts are standing under red umbrellas that have been affixed next to each area entrance. A supervisor wearing a black skirt and blue polo shirt is walking between two of these umbrellas with a blue folder over her head to minimise the amount of rain she gets on her eyeglasses.
2025 edition of our annual Australian Open selfie 1/3
Selfie of a man and woman smiling at the camera while they sit on blue coloured seats at a tennis court. Both are wearing straw hats and sunglasses. The woman is wearing a white, sleeveless top and the man is wearing a printed black t-shirt.
2025 edition of our annual Australian Open selfie 2/3
Selfie of a man and woman smiling at the camera while standing outside the entrance to Margaret Court Arena, a tennis arena in Melbourne, Australia. Both are wearing straw hats and glasses. The the man is wearing a printed black t-shirt and the woman is wearing a white, sleeveless top.
2025 edition of our annual Australian Open selfie 3/3
Selfie of a man and woman smiling at the camera while standing outside the steps that lead to the entrance of Rod Laver Arena, a large tennis arena in Melbourne, Australia. Both are wearing straw hats, glasses, and black face masks. The the man is wearing a printed black t-shirt and the woman is wearing a white, sleeveless top.