The Australian Open first used hard courts in 1988. That year, the tournament moved from the Kooyong Lawn Tennis Club to the newly built Flinders Park complex, now Melbourne Park, and changed from grass to a hard surface called Rebound Ace.
The move was driven partly by the tournament’s growing scale. Kooyong was considered unsuitable for an increasingly important international event, while Flinders Park offered larger facilities and purpose-built stadiums. The 1988 tournament was held from January 11 to 24 and was the first Australian Open staged at the new venue.
Mats Wilander defeated Pat Cash in the men’s final, while Steffi Graf beat Chris Evert in the women’s final. Wilander became the only player to win the Australian Open on both its earlier grass courts and its subsequent hard courts.
The surface has changed since 1988, but the tournament has remained on hard courts. Rebound Ace was replaced by Plexicushion in 2008, and the Australian Open began using GreenSet courts in 2020. Thus, 1988 refers to the first hard-court edition, not merely a later surface renovation.