Tennis-Australian Open sets Grand Slam attendance record

FILE PHOTO: Tennis - Australian Open - Men's Singles Final - Melbourne Park, Melbourne, Australia - January 29, 2023 General view during the final match between Serbia's Novak Djokovic and Greece's Stefanos Tsitsipas REUTERS/Loren Elliott

(Reuters) - The Australian Open set a Grand Slam attendance record with more than 900,000 spectators visiting over three weeks, organisers said on Tuesday, despite the absence of some big-name players and schedule disruptions due to rain.

A record 839,192 fans flocked to Melbourne Park from Jan. 16-29 for the first tournament in two years free of COVID-19 restrictions, beating the previous mark of 812,174 set in January 2020.