Clear weather will be served up for the first round of play at this year’s Australian Open tennis tournament on Sunday, although clouds could build over Melbourne Park next week. Here’s your complete weather outlook for this year’s Australian Open.

The Australian Open will run from Sunday, January 14 to Sunday, January 28 this year, with the first round riddled with exciting matches that are sure to draw large crowds.

Fortunately for anyone attending play on Day 1 this Sunday, it will be dry with daytime temperatures only reaching around 23ºC, which is on the cooler side for Melbourne at this time of year.

Monday and Tuesday will be noticeably warmer and feature plenty of clear skies, with temperatures climbing to the high twenties or low thirties. This warmth shouldn’t be too much bother for players and spectators, and it won’t be enough to cause any suspension to play under the tournament’s extreme heat policy.

Image: Australia's Alex De Minaur practising at Melbourne Park on Friday, January 12, 2024. Source: AAP / Joel Carrett

The chance of rain will increase late on Tuesday into Wednesday morning as a cold front crosses central Victoria. At this stage, the rain from this front may arrive on Tuesday night and could linger into Wednesday morning, but this timing is prone to change in the coming days.

Cooler temperatures will return from Wednesday in the wake of this front, with showers also expected to clear into the second half of the week. Temperatures could warm up again late next week for the second weekend of play.

At this stage, the majority of the tournament's second week looks dry, although this far out it is difficult to reliably predict weather patterns. Make sure you check daily forecasts and weather warnings throughout the Australian Open tournament and don’t forget about protection from the sun.