Shaded Seats at 1573 Arena

1573 Arena is one of the show courts located at Melbourne Park’s tennis campus. It is an outdoor venue at the Australian Open with unreserved seating available on a first-come, first-served basis. During the first week of the tournament, many big-name tennis stars play early-round matches here. In the second week, well-known players compete in doubles matches on this court. Because there is no roof and only a small canopy for shade, fans planning to attend matches here should be aware of the locations of shaded seats at 1573 Arena.

Where are the seats in the shade at 1573 Arena?

The seats in the shade at 1573 Arena are typically located in:

• Sideline, West Side: Shaded in the back half of seats
• Under Cover: The last few 5-6 rows on all sides under cover are shaded

Tennis at 1573 Arena begins as early as 11:00 AM, and matches often run all afternoon. That’s many hours of tennis action that takes place while the sun is shining bright. For more information about which seats are shaded at different times of day, continue reading.

1573 Arena Orientation to the Sun

All tennis show courts at Melbourne Park are oriented in a slightly off-axis north to south direction. By noon, the sun is high in the sky over the northeast section of stands. Over the course of the afternoon, the sun dips down along the west side of the stadium and sets behind the southwest corner.

The graphic below shows the approximate hour-by-hour position of the sun during the Australian Open.

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Seats in the Sun and Shade at 1573 Arena Matches

1573 Arena is an open-air tennis venue with a limited amount of shade. In 2025 the Australian Open boasted about adding double the amount of shade as the previous year including a new shade structure over the 1573 Arena seats. While it’s true that the arena has more shade than ever, in practice, the new structure only extends over about half of the seating. Even with this upgrade, on a sunny day, seats in every section are exposed to the sun when fans arrive.

When it comes to finding shade, sitting in one of the back rows of any section gives you the best chance of avoiding direct sunlight. The good news is that 1573 Arena is an intimate, 3,000-seat stadium, so even the last row offers excellent views of the court.

If you’re attending the second or third match of the day, the west side of the stadium is preferable to the east side. By around 3:00 PM, all but the first two rows on the west side will be in the shade, while only the last four rows on the east side are shaded. An hour later, the entire west side will be out of the sun, and even more of the east side will be sunny. Sitting on the west side also puts the sun at your back, while fans on the east side will be looking directly into it.

The canopy at 1573 Arena provides a limited amount of shade. By 3:00 in the afternoon there are more seats shaded on the west side of the court (right) than on the east side (left).

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AO Shade Guides

If you’re heading to Melbourne Park for this year’s Australian Open, we’ve created shade guides for all major venues. Reserved-seat stadiums include Rod Laver Arena and Margaret Court Arena. For general admission, we’ve covered Kia Arena, 1573 Arena, and ANZ Arena. Additionally, there’s a dedicated shade guide for John Cain Arena, which features a mix of reserved seating and general admission areas.