Take a seat courtside with the @AustralianOpen

This year’s @AustralianOpen kicked off with Twitter integrations giving fans unprecedented behind-the-scenes access to one of the greatest events on the global sporting calendar.

During two weeks of world-class tennis live from Melbourne Park (13 to 26 January), fans from all over the world can follow the Grand Slam tournament on Twitter with exclusive photos, player Q&As, Vine videos, competitions and all the scores, stats and information via the official @AustralianOpen account. You can also join the conversation using #AusOpen.

For the first time in Grand Slam history, @TennisAustralia has launched the ‘Social Shack’ where virtual and physical worlds collide. Located in Garden Square, the one-stop shop for all things social has been designed to engage fans with the players and the tournament more deeply than ever before.

#SocialShack features live feeds on 12-metre LED screens to display @AustralianOpen Tweets, providing exclusive, relevant and fun content, and the opportunity for tennis fans to get involved in the global social conversation.

Activities in the Social Shack include:

• A virtual Tug of War between players, with fans tweeting support to get their favourite player over the line.
• The Social Scoreboard, which will determine who rules on Twitter and which player will be crowned No.1 at tournament’s end.

• Tweet Competitions where you can create Vine videos or take photos based on the daily #hashtag theme for @AustralianOpen to win Twitter merchandise.
• Live Cheer will track player trends in Twitter conversation match-by-match.
• A daily AO Radio social show between day and night sessions.
• And by popular demand, live Twitter Q&As with players and special guests.

Use of Vine will be a highlight of the 2014 coverage, with some great Vine videos already seen on Day One:

…as well as capturing an historic tennis moment last week at a charity event: Rod Laver playing @RogerFederer on the court named after the Australian legend.

Getting ready for #AusOpen
All the best tennis players in the world are on Twitter and love tweeting about life on the circuit. Now that they have arrived in Australia, you can follow along their journey, from enjoying all things Aussie to prepping for the tournament.

Getting ready for #AusOpen

@tomasberdych even tweeted during a match last week!

The #AusOpen Mirror
The @AustralianOpen account has been using the #AusOpen Twitter Mirror, with it making appearances at the Kids Tennis Day:

The #AusOpen Mirror

… and at the Official Player Party blue carpet over the weekend.

#AusOpen Player Party

Find your favourite players with Twitter Lists
To discover your favourite player on Twitter, check out the @AustralianOpen’s Twitter list. If you want to follow not only the players, but photographers, journalists and past players, check out our Twitter list here.

Australian Open standing by to help
You can also have your questions about the tournament answered by tweeting @AOHelp and the Australian Open Help team will respond in record time.

Twitter is a wonderful place to discover what your favourite players are up to during the tournament, and there are also remarkable conversations taking place from celebrities and sport stars from all around the world. Let’s just say tennis lovers unite on Twitter:

Tennis lovers unite

So, it’s time to enjoy the first Grand Slam of 2014. Get tweeting, use #AusOpen to join the global conversation, and drop by the #SocialShack for some fan-tastic activities.

This post also appears on the Twitter Australia Blog.