Australian Open 2023 will host the first-ever All Abilities Day on Tuesday, the 24th of January. To celebrate and provide opportunities for all members of the diverse community to experience and enjoy the Australian Open.
Dylan Alcott, Former number one wheelchair player and 2022 Australian of the year, joined other players and AO organisers to announce and promote the event.
“It’s bloody awesome, the first Grand Slam to do this … disability is often the category that is left out, so to have an All Abilities Day is pretty special,” said 23-time Grand Slam champion Dylan Alcott.
“Twenty percent of the Australian population have some form of disability, physical or non-physical, and they love tennis, and they deserve the opportunity to come, watch and play.”
Because of this, All Abilities Day will raise awareness of the many Australian Open initiatives that make the tournament one of the most accessible events in the world.
Accessibility initiatives at Australian Open 2023 include:
- BindiMaps supported by Mastercard provides wayfinding beacons highlighting key locations around the Melbourne Park precinct for people who are blind or vision impaired
- Action Audio supported by Mastercard, and led by Tennis Australia’s Dr Chatai Goncu in collaboration with AKQA, gives millions of vision-impaired people the opportunity to experience matches in real time though AO Radio, using Tennis Australia’s real-time ball position data to make the speed, trajectory and placement of tennis balls audible. The program is supported by Vision Australia and Blind Sports & Recreation Victoria
- Yarra Trams, in partnership with Traveller’s Aid Australia, supports passengers with a disability to travel to the Australian Open by tram, providing trained staff to assist with transiting onto Yarra Tram services to and from Melbourne Park
- Dedicated customer experience workforce specially trained to support the inclusion of all patrons
- Sensory and calm spaces
- Guide dog relief areas
- Accessibility page and maps on AusOpen.com
- First international persons with intellectual disability tournament
- First international deaf and hard of hearing tournament
- Expanded wheelchair tennis draws
Read more: Tips for returning back to school and how to support your anxious or disabled child.
AO Social Story
Tennis Australia is also proud to launch their first social story for AO23. Because of this, the social story is a great tool to reduce anxiety. Along with people understand what to expect when attending the Australian Open. Because of this initiative visitors can get the most out of their AO experience. Download the Social app.