Shaded Seats at Kia Arena

Kia Arena, previously known as Show Court Arena, is the newest addition to Melbourne Park’s tennis campus. It’s also the largest fully open-air venue at the Australian Open. Seating here is unreserved, available on a first-come, first-served basis. This makes Kia Arena ideal for fans with grounds passes or tickets to larger arenas who want a chance to watch their favorite players in a more intimate setting. Because there’s no retractable roof, fans planning to spend several hours should know the location of shaded seats at Kia Arena.

Where are the seats in the shade at Kia Arena?

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

• Baseline, North Side: Shaded except the first few rows closest to the court
• Sideline, West Side: Shaded by mid-afternoon
• Under Cover: The last few rows on all sides are protected by the roof

Tennis at Kia Arena begins as early as 11:00 AM, and matches 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.

Kia 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 Kia Arena Matches

Kia Arena is an open-air tennis venue but does feature a permanent canopy-style roof running the circumference of the arena. The canopy connects directly to the stadium, creating a wall behind the seats. The roof also extends out far enough to directly cover approximately half of the seats below.

When it comes to shade, sitting under the roof does not always guarantee protection from the sun, since both the position of the sun and its height in the sky changes throughout the day. To avoid the sun, the best spots are where the sun is “behind you” rather than “in front of you.”

Practically speaking, at Kia Arena your best shot at finding shade at noon is on the north side of the stadium. By 2:00 PM, the best shade experience is in the northwest corner, and by 4:00 PM the shadiest seats are sideline on the west side of the arena. Since seats are unreserved, it is theoretically possible to switch seats between matches, but changing sections may require leaving the arena, going outside, and re-entering through a different door. On a day when popular players are scheduled the best seats may not be available when you want to move. In this case, you may prefer to sit in the sun for a period earlier in the day in order to be in an ideal shaded seat later in the day.

Around 2:00 in the afternoon there are more seats in the shade on the west side of the stadium (right) than the east side (left) but the roof provides shade on all sides in rows closest to the back.

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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.