2011 Australian Open

Below is a series of tables for each of the competitions showing the ranking points on offer for each event.

The 2011 Australian Open offered record prize money to both men and women of a total of A$25 million (US$24 million), up 3.8% on the total prize money from 2010.[12] The winners of the singles titles took home A$2.2 million (US$2.1 million) with the finalists receiving A$1.1 million (US$1 million). To put it into perspective Kim Clijsters and Rafael Nadal both took home US$1.7 million for winning the 2010 US Open.[13] Below is the list of prize money given to each player in the main draw of the professional competitions; all prize money is in Australian dollars (A$); doubles prize money is distributed per pair.[14]

On 16 January, Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Kim Clijsters, Novak Djokovic, Lleyton Hewitt, Andy Murray, Andy Roddick, Justine Henin, Ana Ivanovic, Victoria Azarenka, Vera Zvonareva, Caroline Wozniacki and Queenslanders Sam Stosur and Pat Rafter played a charity match at Rod Laver Arena to raise money for the flood efforts. Tickets to the event cost twenty dollars, and other events – such as an auction of shirts signed by the players – also took place.[20] Queensland Energy Resources pledged to match the total amount of money raised.[21] The event raised $1.8 million.[22][23]

There were five competitions open to professional tennis players. The Association of Tennis Professionals and Women's Tennis Association awarded ranking points in all events apart from the mixed doubles. The singles draws were contested by one hundred and twenty eight players, while sixty four teams partook in the doubles events, and thirty two teams lined up in the mixed doubles competition.

Novak Djokovic won the Australian Open for the second time.

At the start of the 2011 Australian Open, World Number one Rafael Nadal was on the edge of history, as he had an opportunity to become the first man since Rod Laver in 1969 to hold all four Grand Slams at the same time, after winning the previous three.[24] This would not be the Grand Slam, but the media had dubbed the feat if Nadal was to achieve it the "Rafa Slam",[25] which was taken from the "Serena Slam" which was coined when Serena Williams won all four Grand Slam titles in a row spanning two calendar years, which in turn was taken from the "Tiger Slam" in which golfer Tiger Woods accomplished a similar feat in golf.[26]

Nadal was the number one seed and led the field. The other top ten seeds were; sixteen time Grand Slam champion, Roger Federer, 2008 Australian Open winner Novak Djokovic, two time Grand Slam finalists Robin Söderling and Andy Murray, Wimbledon runner up Tomáš Berdych, David Ferrer, 2003 US Open champion Andy Roddick, Fernando Verdasco and Mikhail Youzhny.[27][28]

The start of the 2011 Australian Open saw all the seeds apart from Gulbis,[29] Querrey,[30] who lost in the fifth set 8–6 and Davydenko make it to the second round.[31] Montanes, Fish, Monfils, Baghdatis,[32] Tsonga, Bellucci and Nalbandian all survived final set deciders.[33] The second round witnessed all the seeds go through except Michaël Llodra who lost to qualifier Milos Raonic,[34] Feliciano López who went out to Wildcard Bernard Tomic,[35] Juan Mónaco lost to Robin Haase.[36] Fish lost to Robredo and Albert Montañés lost to Malisse.[37][38] While Nalbandian had to retire against Berenkis and Bellucci lost 8–6 in the final set to Hernych.[39][40] Youzhny, Verdasco,[41] Almagro and Federer all survived final set deciders to progress to the third round.[42] Raonic continued his form from the previous round as he upset Youzhny this time in four sets,[43] the biggest upset to date. While Alexandr Dolgopolov upset Tsonga coming back two sets to one down to win.[44] The third round is also where the seeds meet for the first time, so Garcia–Lopez,[45] Baghdatis,[46] Gasquet,[47] Ljubicic and Troicki all exited to higher seeds.[48][49] While Stanislas Wawrinka who was the nineteenth seed managed to defeat Gaël Monfils the twelfth seed in straight sets.[50] Marin Čilić, semifinalist from 2010 defeated John Isner 9–7 in the final set.[51] The fourth round saw Ferrer end Raonic's run, and Dolgopolov edge out Soderling in the final set for the biggest upset in the tournament to date.[52] There were also wins for Berdych,[53] Djokovic,[54] Federer, Murray and Nadal,[55][56] all except Federer eliminated other seeds. There was one other upset as nineteenth seed Wawrinka beat Roddick in straight sets.[57]

Djokovic,[58] Federer and Murray successfully made their way into the semifinals,[59][60] however the upset of the tournament happened as Nadal went out. The "Rafa Slam" attempt came to an end on Australia Day in straight sets against Ferrer, a year to the day since Nadal last lost a Grand Slam match.[61][62] The semifinals witnessed Djokovic taking out Federer in straight sets[63] while Murray overcame Ferrer the next night in four sets.[64] In the final Djokovic defeated Murray for his second Australian Open crown in straight sets.[65]

Championship match result

Novak Djokovic defeated Andy Murray, 6–4, 6–2, 6–3.[65]

Kim Clijsters won her first Australian Open title.

The 2011 women's draw was missing its defending champion Serena Williams who pulled out in late 2010 due to ligament damage. World number one Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark was the number one seed. The Dane headed up the top ten seeds which included Vera Zvonareva, three time US Open champion Kim Clijsters, seven time Grand Slam champion Venus Williams, Samantha Stosur, reigning French Open Champion Francesca Schiavone, Jelena Janković, Victoria Azarenka, Li Na and Shahar Pe'er. Former Grand Slam champions, Justine Henin, Ana Ivanovic, Svetlana Kuznetsova and Maria Sharapova were also seeded.[66]

The start of the 2011 Australian Open saw all the seeds apart from Rezaï,[67] Hantuchová,[68] Dulgheru.[69] The biggest upset of the first round was Ivanovic losing 10–8 in the final set to Ekaterina Makarova while Schiavone survived after being a set down to win the final set.[70] The biggest loser in the second round was Janković as she lost to Peng in straight sets.[71] The Serb was not the only seed to exit though as Iveta Benešová defeated Maria Kirilenko,[72] Martinez–Sanchez lost to Cornet. Kleybanova,[73] Kanepi,[74] Pironkova,[75] Bartoli and Wickmayer all joined them on the plane home.[76] Meanwhile, Schiavone had to survive another final set decider this time winning it 9–7. The third round saw Kutznetsova defeat Henin,[77] in what turned out to be the Belgium's last ever match as she announced her retirement in the second week of the tournament. Andrea Petkovic had a virtual bye into round four as Williams retired after just seven points of their match.[78] Makarova caused another upset as she knocked out Nadia Petrova, while Benešová defeated Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in the final set.[79][80] Other seeds who went out to other seeded players were Cibulková and Peer who lost in three sets.[81][82] While Petra Kvitová ended home hopes as she disposed of Stosur,[83] Sharapova had to come from a set down to progress to the next round.

The fourth round witnessed women's tennis history, as the match between Kuznetsova and Schiavone broke records. The match became the longest match, in terms of time for women in a Grand Slam as it lasted for 4 hours, and 44 minutes. At 8–7 in the final set Kutznetsova had three match points, but the Italian saved all three. In the next game Schiavone broke her opponents serve but touched the net after hitting the winner, meaning the point went to Kutznetsova, when holding three break points. Kutznetsova had another three match points in the next game before a run of four games in a row where the serve was broken. Finally after breaking in the previous game and missing three match points Schiavone closed the match out to win 16–14 in the final set.[84] Other fourth round matches saw Sevastova's run end against Wozniacki and Makarova's end against Clijsters, while Petkovic upset Sharapova in straight sets.[85] Other upsets saw Na Li and Kvitová defeat higher seeded players.

In the quarterfinals Wozniacki put an end to Schiavone's run by winning a final set decider. Also going into the semifinals were Li who defeated Petkovic, Clijsters who defeated Radwańska and Zvonareva who took care of Kvitová. In the first semifinal Li caused an upset, as she saved match point, to defeat the world number one Wozniacki in three sets. As a result, Li became the first Chinese citizen to reach a Grand Slam singles final.[87] Her opponent in the final, Clijsters, won in straight sets against Zvonareva.[88] In the final Clijsters came from a set down to claim her first Australian Open title. It was her fourth grand slam title in her career and second consecutive slam having won the US Open in 2010.[89]

Championship match result

Kim Clijsters defeated Li Na, 3–6, 6–3, 6–3.[86]

Bob and Mike Bryan won the men's doubles title for the fifth time and achieved a third consecutive title at the event.

The 2011 men's doubles competition saw the two-time defending champions and four-time champions overall come back to defend the two previous titles in the team of Bob and Mike Bryan, which they were the number one seeded team in the draw. All of the top eight seeds made the quarterfinals,[90] with the exception being the seventh seeded team of Lukáš Dlouhý and Paul Hanley who exited in round one.[91] Lastly, this event saw four teams exit in the quarterfinal round, which those was the 4th seeded team of Łukasz Kubot and Oliver Marach, Mariusz Fyrstenberg and Marcin Matkowski the 5 seeded team, the 6th seeded and 2010 Wimbledon Champions Jürgen Melzer and Philipp Petzschner, and the 8th seeded team of Michaël Llodra and Nenad Zimonjić.

In the semifinals Bhupathi and Peas beat Max Mirnyi and Daniel Nestor in the final set. This set up a final against the Bryan Brothers who won in straight sets over Butorac and Rojer.[92] In the championship match the Bryan Brothers won in straight sets for their third title in a row. This was also the Bryan Brothers tenth Men's Doubles Grand Slam title leaving them one behind the Woodies (Todd Woodbridge and Mark Woodforde) all time grand slam record of 11 titles.[93][94]

Championship match result

Bob Bryan / Mike Bryan defeated Mahesh Bhupathi / Leander Paes, 6–3, 6–4.[94]

The 2011 women's doubles competition was wide open with no team in the field having previously won a grand slam. Argentina's Gisela Dulko and Flavia Pennetta of Italy led the field as the number one seeds, who had won seven titles in 2010 including the WTA championships but they had never been past a Grand Slam semifinal. Second seeds were the French Open finalists Květa Peschke and Katarina Srebotnik, who had already won a tournament in 2011, the ASB Classic. Number three seeds are the US Open finalists Liezel Huber and Nadia Petrova; the number four seeds are the 2009 WTA Champions Nuria Llagostera Vives and María José Martínez Sánchez with Cara Black and Anastasia Rodionova seeded fifth heading the field.[95]

All the seeds made it through the opening round with the exception of Francesca Schiavone and Rennae Stubbs, who lost, winning just five games in what was Stubbs' final Australian Open.[96][97] In round two the biggest casualties were the departure of the number four seeds; Llagostera Vives and Martínez Sánchez in straight sets.[98] In the third round the number six, seven and eighth seeds all crashed out. In the quarterfinals Huber won the battle of the ex-partners as she downed Black's team to set up a semi final with Dulko and Penetta. The other semi was filled by Azarenka and Kirilenko and the number two seeds. In the semis the Number one seeds advanced to the final where after a shock they faced Azerenka and Kilrenko.[99] In the final Dulko and Pennetta came from a set down to win.[100]

Championship match result

Gisela Dulko / Flavia Pennetta defeated Victoria Azarenka / Maria Kirilenko, 2–6, 7–5, 6–1.[101]

Katarina Srebotnik won her first Australian Open Mixed Doubles crown. She was partnered by Daniel Nestor.

The mixed doubles field was led by top seeds and US Open champions Bob Bryan and Liezel Huber. Other significant seeds were: number two seeds Daniel Nestor and Katarina Srebotnik, Nestor's ex-doubles partner Nenad Zimonjić and Maria Kirilenko are the third seeds. Fourth seeds were defending champions Leander Paes and Cara Black, while the fifth and sixth seeds were Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi and Květa Peschke and Wesley Moodie and Lisa Raymond.[102]

All the seeded teams made it through the first round apart from the teams of Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi and Květa Peschke who lost to Rennae Stubbs and Chris Guccione and Moody and Reymond who lost to Horia Tecău and Bethanie Mattek-Sands. The second round witnessed the number one seeds Bryan and Huber withdraw and the defending champions, Paes and Black go out to Paul Hanley and Chan Yung-jan after two tiebreak sets.[103] The quarterfinals saw no upsets as Nestor and Srebotnik, Zimonjic and Kirlienko, Hanley and Chan and Tecau and Mettek–Sands made the semifinals. In the semifinals Nestor and Srebotnik won in straight sets against Zimonjic and Kirilenko. Their opponents in the final were Hanley and Chan after they won a match tiebreak 11–9 against Tecau and Mettek–Sands.[104] The final came down to a match tiebreak which the number two seeds, Nestor and Srebotnik won. It was Nestor's second Australian Open mixed title while for Srebotnik it was her first.[105]

Championship match result

Katarina Srebotnik / Daniel Nestor defeated Chan Yung-jan / Paul Hanley, 6–3, 3–6, [10–7].[105]

Sixty four players competed in the boys and girls singles events, with thirty two teams competing in the boys and girls doubles events. The event is one of nine ITF Grade A junior competitions. Qualifying for the main draw took place between 20 and 21 January 2011. Sixty four players attempted to qualify for the main draw of the boys and girls singles. There were eight qualifying spots available to join the forty six direct acceptance, two special exemptions and eight wildcards in the main draw. The qualifying event was held at the Pakenham Regional Tennis Centre.[106] The main draws took place between 23 and 29 January 2011.[107]

Jiri Veselý won both the singles and the doubles titles

World number one Jiří Veselý led the field. Other top seeds included World number two Dominic Thiem, Orange Bowl Champion George Morgan and World number five Mate Pavić.[108] In the first round of the tournament Pavić exited in straight sets to Karim Hossam. While fellow seeds Dimitri Bretting, Joris De Loore and Ben Wagland also went out of the tournament.[109] Also in action was Vesley and the 2010 finalist Sean Berman who both won their opening matches.[110] Luke Saville caused the biggest upset in the second round as he outsted World number two Thiem in straight sets[111] while Veselý and Morgan progressed with straight sets wins.[112] The third round saw Morgan and Saville win epics in the final set.[113] The quarterfinals saw Veselý, Morgan, Carballes and Saville reach the semifinals,[114][115] where Veselý and Saville reached the final.[116][117] In the final Veselý claimed his first junior Grand Slam title as he lost just three games against home hope Saville.[118]

Championship match result

Jiří Veselý defeated Luke Saville, 6–0, 6–3.[119]

Mestach became the first girl to win both the singles and doubles titles at an Australian Open since Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova.

The 2011 Australian Open girls field was led by the World number one, US Open and youth Olympic champion, Daria Gavrilova. Joining the Russian leading the field was An-Sophie Mestach, Irina Khromacheva and Monica Puig. While Orange Bowl champion Lauren Davis who competed in the main draw of the women's singles was the third seed and she was also joined by Caroline Garcia who also appeared in the women's draw.[108] The first round saw all of the seeds bar Natalija Kostic[120] move into the second round. Gavrilova, however was not in the second round as she was dumped out in straight sets by fifteen-year-old Kanami Tsuji[121] Puig, in the second round got rid of the last of the home contingent losing just two games in the process.[122] Eugenie Bouchard caused the biggest upset of round three when she lost just three games against Davis. Garcia caused an upset in the quarterfinals as she upset the number four seed Khromacheva in straight sets.[123] The semifinals witnessed Mestach drop her first and only set of the tournament when she defeated Garcia whilst Puig saw off Bouchard in straight sets.[124] In the final Mestach defeated Puig in straight sets to win her first junior Grand Slam title.[125]

Championship match result

An-Sophie Mestach defeated Monica Puig, 6–4, 6–2.[119]

Filip Horansky won his first Junior Grand Slam title.

The first round witnessed Dimitri Bretting and Dennis Novak the fifth seeds and seventh seeds Luis Patiño and Filip Peliwo exit at the first hurdle. All the remaining seeds made it to the quarterfinals, where the number one seeds George Morgan and Mate Pavić who exited to the eighth seeds Mitchell Krueger and Karue Sell in a match tiebreak while second seeds Filip Horanský and Jiří Veselý knocked out sixth seeds Dominic Thiem and Matthias Wunner. Horansky and Vesely reached the final after defeating the fourth seeds Joris de Loore and Mate Delić who received a bye in the previous round in straight sets. While third seeds Ben Wagland and Andrew Whittington took care of Krueger and Sell in a match tiebreak.[126] Horansky and Vesely triumphed in straight sets in the final over Wagland and Whttington.[124]

Championship match result

Filip Horanský / Jiří Veselý defeated Ben Wagland / Andrew Whittington, 6–4, 6–4.[124]

All the seeds made it through the first round without incident. Nastja Kolar and Danka Kovinić the fifth seeds, Tang Haochen and Tian Ran the seventh seeds and the biggest upset with the second seeds Eugenie Bouchard and Monica Puig all went out in the second round. In the quarterfinals An-Sophie Mestach and Demi Schuurs sent the number one seeds Irina Khromacheva and Yulia Putintseva home for the loss of just three games. While Margarita Gasparyan and Daria Gavrilova the fourth seeds lost a match tiebreaker to Eri Hozumi and Miyu Kato whilst Lucia Butkovská and Anna Schmiedlová the eighth seeds won only one game. Kato and Hozumi progressed to the final, where they faced Mestach and Schuurs who knocked out the third seeds Natalija Kostić and Ilona Kremen in a match tiebreaker.[127] In the final Mestach and Schuurs defeated Hozumi and Kato in straight sets for their first Grand Slam doubles title.[124]

Championship match result

An-Sophie Mestach / Demi Schuurs defeated Eri Hozumi / Miyu Kato, 6–2, 6–3.[124]

There are six events in the wheelchair tennis discipline; a singles and doubles draw for each of the three categories. The tournament was played between 26 and 29 January 2011. All events were part of the NEC tour under the Grand Slam category.[128] A total of $63,000 was awarded in prize money across all the events.[129]

Kunieda won his fourth consecutive Australian Open

In the opening round World number one Shingo Kunieda defeated Ronald Vink for the loss of just one game. Kunieda would play Robin Ammerlaan in the semifinals after the Dutchman defeated home hope Ben Weekes. In the other half of the draw Stéphane Houdet saw off Maikel Scheffers while Stefan Olsson saw off Houdet's doubles partner Nicolas Peifer.[130] In the semifinals Kunieda and Houdet emerged victorious in the battle for the final.[131] Kunieda defeated Houdet for his twelfth Grand Slam title losing just three games.[132]

Championship match result

Shingo Kunieda defeated Stéphane Houdet, 6–0, 6–3.[133]

Esther Vergeer won her eighth Australian Open and recorded her 404th consecutive match win.

There were eight entries into the singles competition. On her Grand Slam debut Marjolein Buis won in three sets against Annick Sevenans to reach the semifinals. Also into the semifinals were World number one Esther Vergeer who recorded her four hundred and second consecutive match win with a 6–0, 6–0 win over her doubles partner, Sharon Walraven. Buis then took on World number two and home favourite Daniela di Toro who lost just three games on Australia Day against Aniek van Koot.[130] While Jiske Griffioen would play Vergeer in the semifinals after defeating Grand Slam debutant Jordanne Whiley in straight sets.[134] The semifinals witnessed di Toro and Vergeer make the final with straight sets wins.[135] In the final Vergeer claimed her eighth Australian Open title as she defeated di Toro without losing a game to chalk up her four hundredth and fourth consecutive win.[136][137]

Championship match result

Esther Vergeer defeated Daniela di Toro, 6–0, 6–0.[133]

David Wagner defeated Peter Norfolk for the first time in five finals to win the Australian Open for the first time.

The tournament was played in a round robin format. Peter Norfolk, the defending champion, opened with a straight sets win over doubles partner Andrew Lapthorne.[134] Whilst World number one David Wagner defeated his doubles partner Nick Taylor for the loss of two games.[130] In the second round of matches Wagner edged Norfolk in a final set decider, whilst Grand Slam debutant Lapthorne recorded his first victory as he won in straight sets against Taylor. The loss for Taylor meant that he was eliminated from the event.[138] In the final round robin matches, Norfolk defeated Taylor for the loss of just three games, while Wagner defeated Lapthorne in straight sets. The win for Norfolk and the loss for Lapthorne meant that Norfolk would play Wagner in the final.[139] In the final Wagner defeated Norfolk for the loss of just five games.[140] It was Wagner's first Australian Open singles title.[141]

Championship match result

David Wagner defeated Peter Norfolk, 6–2, 6–3.[133]

Scheffers won the doubles with Kunieda

There was four teams competing in this event. Shingo Kunieda and Maikel Scheffers beat Wimbledon champions, Robin Ammerlaan and Stefan Olsson in straight sets. They were joined in the final by the all French pairing of Stéphane Houdet and Nicolas Peifer who defeated Ronald Vink and Ben Weekes.[131] In the final Kunieda and Scheffers came from a break down in the first set to defeat the French pair in straight sets.[142]

Championship match result

Shingo Kunieda / Maikel Scheffers defeated Stéphane Houdet / Nicolas Peifer, 6–3, 6–3.[142]

Sharon Walraven won the doubles with Vergeer

There were four entries to this competition. Esther Vergeer and Sharon Walraven defeated Daniela di Toro and Jordanne Whiley in straight sets to make the final. The final was turned into an all Dutch affair as Aniek van Koot and Jiske Griffioen joined them after defeating Marjolein Buis and Annick Sevenans in two tiebreaks.[131] In the final Vergeer and Walraven lost just two games as they defeated van Koot and Griffioen to claim their third consecutive Grand Slam title.[142]

Championship match result

Esther Vergeer / Sharon Walraven defeated Jiske Griffioen / Aniek van Koot, 6–0, 6–2.[142]

Norfolk won the Quad doubles with Andrew Lapthorne. It was Norfolk's first Australian Open doubles title.

There were just two entries in the quad doubles, and they played a straight final to decide the championship.[128] In the one-off match history was made as Lapthorne and Norfolk became the first all-British pair to win a wheelchair Grand Slam doubles title. It was Lapthorne's first Grand Slam title and Norfolk's first Grand Slam doubles title as the pair defeated the all-American pair of Taylor and Wagner in straight sets for their fourth win over them.[143]

Championship match result

Andrew Lapthorne / Peter Norfolk defeated Nicholas Taylor / David Wagner, 6–3, 6–3.[144]

The 2011 Australian Open was broadcast around the world with eleven different broadcasters officially screening the event. Channel 7 was the host broadcaster, with ESPN covering North America with its International franchise covering South and Latin America. Eurosport holds the rights to broadcast the tournament in Europe. In Asia broadcasts were covered by ESPN Star Sports and in Japan by WOWOW and by CN Sports Interactive Media Group in China. In Africa coverage is by SuperSport, and in the middle east by Abu Dhabi TV. Pacific coverage was broadcast by Sky New Zealand in New Zealand and by FIJI TV in Fiji.[145] During the course of the tournament, Tennis Australia and Eurosport, announced that they had extended their partnership for another five years, which extends Eurosports unbroken coverage of the Australian Open to over twenty years.[146]

For the first time in the history of the Australian Open, the qualifying competition for the main draw was streamed live on the internet. Camera's covered courts number three, five, six and seven, as the competition was streamed live on australianopen.com, foxsports.com.au, yahoo7.com, livestream.com and on the Australian Open's Facebook page. The qualifying competition was broadcast between 12 and 15 January.[147] The charity event Rally for Relief was also broadcast live on australianopen.com and Australian network channel seven.[21]

During the first week of the tournament, viewing figures in Australia were down for the second year running.[148] 1.36 million people tuned in for the Men's singles final which was lower than the rating which the women's final received according to figures released by OzTAM.[149]

2011 introduced a kids tennis day event, which took place on the Saturday before the tournament took place, the final day of qualifying (But due to play being washed out Sunday was the final day of qualifying). Around eight thousand fans attended the day,[150] as fans entertained themselves in a variety of activities, including watching stringers string racquets and arts and crafts. But the highlight of the day for many fans was a chance to watch past and present players on show court three. These players included, Pat Cash, Henri Leconte, Peter Luczak, Alicia Molik and Anastasia Rodionova.[151]

A full house of 15,000 people watched the charity fund-raiser Rally for Relief on the Rod Laver Arena,[152] while another twelve hundred watched in the grounds bringing the attendance for the day to 16,220.[18]

A total of 651,127 patrons attended the tournament throughout the two weeks, which was lower than the attendance in 2010, although daily records were set on several days.[153] The middle Saturday witnessed a record breaking crowd. As 51,276 filled Melbourne Park, which was a record for the middle Saturday and the biggest crowd ever at the Australian Open for a day session. A further 25,845 attended the evening session which brought the total number of patrons for the day to 77,121 which was again record breaking as it was the largest number of spectators to have attended on one day.[154]

The men's and women's singles draw of the 2011 Australian Open seeded the top thirty-two players who were not injured. The seeds were set on the ranking system's that the Association of Tennis Professionals and the Women's Tennis Association use; so the top thirty-two players seeded were the top thirty-two players according to their rankings.

Men's Singles

Rafael Nadal was the number one seed in the Men's Singles. He had an opportunity to complete all four Grand Slams at once, but lost to David Ferrer in the quarterfinals.

Sd[27]	Rk[155]	Player[27]	Points[156]	Points defending	Points won	New points[157]	Status
1	1	Rafael Nadal	12390	360	360	12390	Quarterfinals lost to David Ferrer[158]
2	2	Roger Federer	9245	2000	720	7965	Semifinals lost to Novak Djokovic[63]
3	3	Novak Djokovic	6240	360	2000	7880	Champion, won against Andy Murray[65]
4	4	Robin Söderling	5785	10	180	5955	Fourth round lost to Alexandr Dolgopolov[52]
5	5	Andy Murray	5760	1200	1200	5760	Final lost against Novak Djokovic[159]
6	6	Tomáš Berdych	3955	45	360	4270	Quarterfinals lost to Novak Djokovic[58]
7	7	David Ferrer	3895	45	720	4570	Semifinals lost to Andy Murray[64]
8	8	Andy Roddick	3565	360	180	3385	Fourth round lost to Stanislas Wawrinka[57]
9	9	Fernando Verdasco	3240	180	180	3240	Fourth round lost to Tomáš Berdych[53]
10	10	Mikhail Youzhny	2920	90	90	2920	Third round lost to Milos Raonic[43]
11	11	Jürgen Melzer	2785	10	180	2955	Fourth round lost to Andy Murray[55]
12	12	Gaël Monfils	2560	90	90	2560	Third round lost to Stanislas Wawrinka[50]
13	13	Jo-Wilfried Tsonga	2345	720	90	1715	Third round lost to Alexandr Dolgopolov[44]
14	14	Nicolás Almagro	2160	180	180	2160	Fourth round lost to Novak Djokovic[54]
15	15	Marin Čilić	2140	720	180	1600	Fourth round lost to Rafael Nadal[56]
16	16	Mardy Fish	1921	10	45	1956	Second round lost to Tommy Robredo[37]
17	17	Ivan Ljubičić	1965	90	90	1965	Third round lost to Nicolás Almagro[48]
18	18	Sam Querrey	1860	10	10	1860	First round lost to Łukasz Kubot[30]
19	19	Stanislas Wawrinka	1855	90	360	2125	Quarterfinals lost to Roger Federer[59]
20	20	John Isner	1645	180	90	1555	Third round lost to Marin Čilić[51]
21	21	Marcos Baghdatis	1580	90	90	1580	Third round lost to Jürgen Melzer[46]
22	22	Michaël Llodra	1575	45	45	1575	Second round lost to Milos Raonic[34]
23	23	Nikolay Davydenko	1555	360	10	1205	First round lost to Florian Mayer[31]
24	24	Ernests Gulbis	1575	10	10	1575	First round lost to Benjamin Becker[29]
25	25	Albert Montañés	1495	90	45	1450	Second round lost to Xavier Malisse[38]
26	26	Juan Mónaco	1480	90	45	1435	Second round lost to Robin Haase[36]
27	27	David Nalbandian	1610	0	45	1655	Second round lost to Ričardas Berankis[39]
28	29	Richard Gasquet	1280	10	90	1360	Third round lost to Tomáš Berdych[47]
29	30	Viktor Troicki	1445	45	90	1535	Third round lost to Novak Djokovic[49]
30	31	Thomaz Bellucci	1355	45	45	1355	Second round lost to Jan Hernych[40]
31	32	Feliciano López	1310	90	45	1265	Second round lost to Bernard Tomic[35]
32	33	Guillermo García-López	1300	10	90	1380	Third round lost to Andy Murray[45]

Withdrawn players

Rank	Player	Points	Points defending	Points won	New points	Withdrew due to
28	Juan Carlos Ferrero	1415	10	0	1405	Knee and wrist injury[160]

Women's Singles

Caroline Wozniacki was the number one seed in the Women's Singles. She lost to eventual runner-up Li Na in the semifinals.

Sd[27]	Rk[161]	Player[27]	Points[161]	Points defending	Points won	New points	Status
1	1	Caroline Wozniacki	8035	280	900	8655	Semifinals lost to Li Na[87]
2	2	Vera Zvonareva	6785	280	900	7405	Semifinals lost to Kim Clijsters[88]
3	3	Kim Clijsters	6675	160	2000	8515	Champion, won against Li Na[162]
4	5	Venus Williams	4985	500	160	4645	Third round lost to Andrea Petkovic[78]
5	6	Samantha Stosur	4982	280	160	4862	Third round lost to Petra Kvitová[83]
6	7	Francesca Schiavone	4835	280	500	5055	Quarterfinals lost to Caroline Wozniacki[163]
7	8	Jelena Janković	4445	160	100	4385	Second round lost to Peng Shuai[71]
8	10	Victoria Azarenka	4155	500	280	3935	Fourth round lost to Li Na[164]
9	11	Li Na	3950	900	1400	4450	Final lost to Kim Clijsters
10	12	Shahar Pe'er	3225	160	160	3225	Third round lost to Flavia Pennetta[82]
11	13	Justine Henin	3215	1400	160	1975	Third round lost to Svetlana Kuznetsova[77]
12	14	Agnieszka Radwańska	3000	160	500	3340	Quarterfinals lost to Kim Clijsters[165]
13	15	Nadia Petrova	2702	500	160	2362	Third round lost to Ekaterina Makarova[79]
14	16	Maria Sharapova	2661	5	280	2936	Fourth round lost Andrea Petkovic[85]
15	17	Marion Bartoli	2655	160	100	2595	Second round lost to Vesna Manasieva[76]
16	18	Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova	2585	100	160	2645	Third round lost to Iveta Benešová[80]
17	19	Aravane Rezaï	2445	100	5	2350	First round lost to Barbora Záhlavová-Strýcová[67]
18	20	Maria Kirilenko	2540	500	100	2140	Second round lost to Iveta Benešová[72]
19	21	Ana Ivanovic	2500	100	5	2405	First round lost to Ekaterina Makarova[70]
20	22	Kaia Kanepi	2460	100	100	2460	Second round lost to Julia Görges[74]
21	23	Yanina Wickmayer	2370	280	100	2190	Second round lost to Anastasija Sevastova[76]
22	24	Flavia Pennetta	2355	100	280	2535	Fourth round lost to Petra Kvitová[166]
23	25	Svetlana Kuznetsova	2310	280	280	2310	Fourth round lost to Francesca Schiavone[167]
24	26	Alisa Kleybanova	2420	160	100	2360	Second round lost to Simona Halep[73]
25	28	Petra Kvitová	2018	100	500	2418	Quarterfinals lost to Vera Zvonareva[168]
26	29	María José Martínez Sánchez	2010	100	100	2010	Second round lost to Alizé Cornet
27	30	Alexandra Dulgheru	2000	5	5	2000	First round lost to Ayumi Morita[69]
28	31	Daniela Hantuchová	1945	160	5	1790	First round lost to Regina Kulikova[68]
29	32	Dominika Cibulková	1905	5	160	2060	Third round lost to Caroline Wozniacki[81]
30	33	Andrea Petkovic	1890	100	500	2290	Quarterfinals lost to Li Na[169]
31	34	Lucie Šafářová	1780	5	160	1935	Third round lost to Vera Zvonareva[170]
32	35	Tsvetana Pironkova	1722	100	100	1722	Second round lost to Monica Niculescu[75]

Tennis Australia awarded eight wildcards for the men's and women's professional singles competitions. Former Australian Grand Slam champions, Pat Rafter and Todd Woodbridge helped to select the four discretionary wildcards in the men's draw. In an agreement with the United States Tennis Association, Tennis Australia gave one man and one woman from the United States a wildcard into the Australian Open.[172] Tennis Australia also has a similar agreement with the French Tennis Federation.[173] The Australian Open is promoted as "the Grand Slam of Asia/Pacific"; one male and one female player from this geographical area was awarded a wildcard. The final wildcard was awarded to the winner of the Australian Open wildcard playoff, a tournament between Australian players, who do not receive direct entry into the draw.[174] Below is a list of players and teams who received wildcard entries into the main draw.

1. Sophie Ferguson / Marinko Matosevic
2. Jarmila Groth / Samuel Groth
3. Mirjana Lučić / Bernard Tomic
4. Alicia Molik / Peter Luczak
5. Sally Peers / Carsten Ball
6. Olivia Rogowska / Matthew Ebden
7. Rennae Stubbs / Chris Guccione

The following players were accepted directly into the main draw using a protected ranking:

In the men's singles one hundred and twenty eight players, including eight wildcards competed for sixteen entries into the main draw of the 2011 Australian Open. Matches commenced on 12 January and concluded on 15 January 2011, with players required to win three matches to qualify.[185] On the second day of qualifying, the entire schedule was washed out by rain. This was the first time since the Australian Open moved to Melbourne Park from Kooyong in 1988 that play has failed to take place on at least one court.[186] Below is a list of qualifiers for the main draw of the men's and women's singles events.

The following players were accepted directly into the main tournament, but withdrew with injuries.

Men's Singles Original player Replacement Julien Benneteau Simon Greul Juan Carlos Ferrero Karol Beck Fernando González Daniel Brands Paul-Henri Mathieu Alejandro Falla

Women's Singles Original player Replacement Alona Bondarenko Evgeniya Rodina Yvonne Meusburger Alison Riske Yaroslava Shvedova Virginie Razzano Ágnes Szávay Maria Elena Camerin Serena Williams Lucie Hradecká Zheng Jie Junri Namigata

Below is a list of the sixteen seeds for the boys and girls singles and the eight qualifiers for each event.

Qualifying for the junior events took place between 20 and 21 January 2011 at the Pakenham Regional Tennis Centre.

Below is a list of the seeds for the singles tournaments of the wheelchair tennis event.