When you haven't got time, or access, to catch the Australian Open 2024 on television or in person, AO Radio is the perfect way to stay up to date. Whether you’re driving, working or simply seeking an alternative method to tune in to the tournament, AO Radio broadcasts to the world.
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Incorporating shot-by-shot commentary of Rod Laver Arena (with crosses to other courts), as well as player interviews and news throughout Melbourne Park, AO Radio has been the official voice of the Australian Open since 2005.
Executive editor Chris Bowers explains that the medium provides a unique connection for listeners worldwide, making the tournament accessible to an audience who might otherwise miss out.
Some listeners might be living abroad, while others use AO Radio to stay connected while travelling (some listeners have even been in touch with the team during AO 2024 from wifi-enabled flights).
“We have such an eclectic bunch of listeners. I don't just mean that in terms of different types of people, but the way people listen,” Bowers explains of AO Radio, which can be accessed via AusOpen.com or the AO app, TuneIn Radio and on FM 99.7 ‘special event frequency’ within four kilometres of Melbourne Park.
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"We know there are people who turn the sound down on the TV and listen to us, simply because they can contact us. Messages from listeners are a crucial part of our output, so by having AO Radio on, people feel like they're members of a global club or tennis community, they like our club atmosphere.
“We are on air 24 hours a day, from the start of the tournament to the end.”
AO Radio features a team of 14 commentators, whose skills have been tested in various matches over the years.
When an AO 2023 second-round match stretched into the early hours of the morning, for example, Peter Marcato and Candy Reid worked through the night, finishing close to 5am. Stephanie Myles and Bowers himself had earlier been on air until 2.30 am.
“Last year we had that bizarre match where Murray and Kokkinakis finished at ten past four,” says Bowers.
“Where we are different to most other broadcasters is that we have timed commentary shifts. We don't put a commentary team on a match and say, 'Right, if that match is an hour and 20 minutes, or four-and-a-half hours, you're doing it. Because this is radio. We've got to be talking all the time.”
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AO Radio has also been able to reach an important audience group, utilising the Action Audio service to enhance the Australian Open experience for those who are vision-impaired.
“Action Audio tells blind and partially-sighted listeners where the ball is,” Bowers explains.
“Over the years, we’ve had lots of people write us heart-warming messages, people who say, 'When I lost my sight I thought my years of enjoying sport were over. You bring this to life for us’.
“That makes it so worthwhile.”
Radio is a different tennis experience for all listeners, with the medium offering an alternative style to a television broadcast.
“Radio commentary on any sport, but in particular tennis, is a dance between the commentators’ voices and the effects,” Bowers says.
But there are times when that balance can be challenged. One of the more memorable examples was when pandemic measures were introduced in 2021. Powers and his team still had to get the balance right.
“I was commentating the night of [Novak] Djokovic against [Taylor] Fritz. At 3-2 in the fourth [set], the match was suspended because at midnight a five-day temporary lockdown was coming into effect and so at 11.30, the stadium had to be emptied,” he recalls.
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“If you're final set, three-all, break point, it's still a dramatic point, whether you've got a crowd or not and in a way, that's where the timbre of our voices has got to work overtime.”
AO Radio encourages audience participation too, with listens able to provide feedback or ask questions through the AO website.
“If they hear something and it strikes them, they can always just get onto their laptop or smartphone and write us a message,” says Bowers. “And therefore, they are part of it.
“We say to people, 'Tell us where you are' and we've had messages from Antarctica and all sorts of locations around the world.”
But AO Radio offers far more than reaching people in remote locations. It's a service that unites people around the world by common interest.
And Bowers’ personal highlights over the last 15 years?
“One that I remember most is the final here in 2012, between Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal. Because the first set was 80 minutes and it seemed clear that it would end in four sets but it didn't.
“It just kept having twists and turns and twists and we were all punch-drunk on this and yet we were kept going by the sheer drama of it. The fact that every time you thought it finished, something else happened.”
There is an equally happy memory in crowning a local singles champion.
“I mean, Ash Barty’s title in 2022 is obviously big because it was such a wonderful night,” he recalls. “There is something about a home success at any tournament.”