On Sunday night, some good fiends took me to the first night of the Australlian Open.

I have never been to the tennis before , so to go to the biggest Australian event was s wonderful opportunity . And of course, a wonderful sketching opportunity.

I had sketched at the cricket at the Boxing Day test (another big event). This gave me the experience of how to approach sketching a large stadium and the crowd.

https://alissaduke.com/2024/12/mcg-cricket-sketching.html

https://alissaduke.com/2022/12/at-the-cricket.html

At Rod Laver Arena, Melbourne Open 18 January 2026

The first sketch is in watercolour pencils. I started before people started to arrive. Yes the seats and the courts are blue.

I stayed in the same seat LL from 5:30pm to 11.05 pm. People don’t move around as much as they do at the Test Cricket.

I also learnt, at the cricket, that the players were difficult to sketch as they more all the time. But the ball boys and girls stayed still and returned to the same spot. I think that if I practiced and became familiar with the different stances.

Happy Sketching everyone!