As the best tennis players in the world descend on Melbourne to contest the first major tournament on the 2025 calendar, we take a look at what the weather will serve up for week 1.
Melbourne is known to have wild variations in its day-to-day weather, and players and fans alike will get a whole set of different conditions in the first week. Thunderstorms that may fire up over Melbourne this afternoon look more certain tomorrow afternoon as Day 1 gets underway, with a trough driving unstable air over the region. Monday looks to repeat Sunday’s set, although storms will have more of a hit and miss nature to them. Tuesday should then be comparatively dry and pleasant, with temperatures forecast to top out at a warm 28°C before the weather’s main show begins…
Image: Forecast maximum temperatures on Wed 15th for Victoria
Wednesday looks to be the hottest day of week 1, with the sun slicing through the sky in the morning, bringing temperatures into the low-to-mid 30s, before a cold front returns serve in the afternoon. Players that progress through round 1, playing in the afternoon and evening sessions should feel the cool breeze, but the front will also serve up another round of showers and storms, possibly smashing the courts with up to 20mm of rain.
Image: Synoptic chart for Thu 16th with 24h rainfall to 11am Thu 16th. Note the area of heavy rainfall in the 24h to 11am EDT over southern Vic behind the cold front
The second half of week 1 becomes a bit damp and dreary, as breezy onshore winds prevail behind the front. Showers should continue through the remainder of the week, although are likely to let up during the weekend.
An early sneak peek into week 2 brings us generally more settled and mild-to-warm weather as the tournament progresses into the finals, although there are early signs of a cold front making its way through around the final days, potentially setting up dramatic weather for the men’s or women’s final if the timing is right.