Roger Federer steals the show at Australian Open's first formal opening ceremony

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Roger Federer of Switzerland reacts with partner Andre Agassi, left, of the United States in their doubles match against Lleyton Hewitt and Pat Rafter of Australia during the Opening Ceremony for the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Saturday, Jan. 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Dita Alangkara)

Novak Djokovic, right, of Serbia embraces Roger Federer of Switzerland during the Opening Ceremony for the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Saturday, Jan. 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Dita Alangkara) — Roger Federer of Switzerland reacts with partner Andre Agassi, left, of the United States in their doubles match against Lleyton Hewitt and Pat Rafter of Australia during the Opening Ceremony for the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Saturday, Jan. 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Dita Alangkara)

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3:16 AM on Saturday, January 17

The Associated Press

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — The Australian Open's first formal opening ceremony became the Roger Federer show on the eve of the season-opening major.

There was Crowded House, the band, playing a set of four hits. There was a full house — a capacity crowd in the 15,000-seat stadium.

Rod Laver, the great Australian player of Grand Slam fame, was in the house. The 87-year-old Aussie was sitting courtside in Rod Laver Arena, the center court at Melbourne Park named in his honor.

Federer, the six-time Australian Open winner and 20-time Grand Slam champion, partnered past champions Andre Agassi and then Ash Barty in an exhibition doubles match against Pat Rafter and Lleyton Hewitt as the main feature of the program.

It went to script, with Federer winning the first point despite framing a forehand and then emphatically finishing off the victory with a leaping overhead winner.

Novak Djokovic, who has won 10 Australian titles among his record 24 major championships, was there to watch.

The Australian Open main draw singles competitions start Sunday. Djokovic plays his opening match on Monday.

Australian Open organizers turned the 2026 edition into a three-week festival of tennis, with 217,999 fans attending across six days to watch exhibitions, qualifying and the 1 Point Slam before the main draw started.

Federer was back in Australia for the first time since 2021, making the trip now because he retired from competitive tennis before he could do a farewell season tour.

“It really truly means so much to me when people like Rocket (Laver) show up,” Federer said. “It’s super important to be grateful” to earlier generations of stars.

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