Daphne Akhurst Memorial Cup

The Daphne Akhurst Memorial Cup is the trophy given to the winner of the Australian Open women's singles tournament. It has been awarded since 1934 and is named after a famous Australian tennis player, Daphne Akhurst. The cup was donated by the New South Wales Tennis Association to honor her achievements in tennis.

Originally, the trophy was kept by Daphne Akhurst because she won the Australian Open women's singles five times. Because she became the permanent owner of the original trophy, a new one was made for future winners. Today, the real trophy stays with Tennis Australia, but each champion gets a copy to remember their win.

During the Australian Open tournament, people can see the Daphne Akhurst Memorial Cup on display near the AO Game Hub in Garden Square in the afternoon. It is a special way to celebrate the history and excitement of women's tennis in Australia.

Trophy tour

Before each Australian Open, the Daphne Akhurst Memorial Cup travels around Australia on a "Trophy Tour." It visits schools, clubs, and communities, sharing the history of Australian tennis. Sometimes, the trophy even travels outside Australia. For example, between October 2024 and January 2025, the trophy was shown in 18 communities in the state of Victoria.

Confection

Since 2022, a skilled craftsman named W.J. Sanders from Sydney has been making the Daphne Akhurst Memorial Cup together with ABC Bullion. The trophy is crafted from silver found in Australia and has touches of gold. It measures 18 inches tall and is 7.5 centimeters wide. Winners of the Australian Open women's singles receive a copy that looks just like the main trophy kept by Tennis Australia.

Photo tradition

After winning, champions usually take photos with the trophy in famous places in Melbourne. For example, in 2025, Madison Keys had her picture taken with the cup at the Brighton Life Saving Club.

Stories involving the trophy

In the early 1970s, the special top part of the trophy went missing after the Australian Open was held in Sydney in 1970 and 1971. The trophy was brought back to Melbourne without its top, and for over ten years, winners stood with the top-less cup. It was finally found in a storage room at the White City Tennis Stadium in Sydney around 1982.

In 2013, after Victoria Azarenka won the Australian Open again, there was a mistake when writing her name on the trophy. Her country was written as “BEL” for Belgium instead of “BLR” for Belarus. This mistake was fixed later.

In 2023, the name of the Australian Open women's singles champion, Aryna Sabalenka, was written on the trophy without her country’s name. This happened because she is from Belarus, and at that time, ITF, ATP, and WTA were not recognizing Belarus along with Russia because of the invasion of Ukraine.

Historical winners

Elena Rybakina from Kazakhstan is the current winner of the Daphne Akhurst Memorial Cup, and Joan Hartigan, a former Australian tennis player, was the first to receive it. Another former Australian tennis player, Margaret Court, holds the record for winning this trophy the most times, with eleven wins in total.

Statistics

Since 1934, when the Daphne Akhurst Memorial Cup began, some players have won the most titles.

Player	Amateur Era	Open Era	All-time	Years
Margaret Smith Court (AUS)	7	4	11	1960, 1961, 1962, 1963, 1964, 1965, 1966, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1973
Serena Williams (USA)	0	7	7	2003, 2005, 2007, 2009, 2010, 2015, 2017
Nancye Wynne Bolton (AUS)	6	0	6	1937, 1940, 1946, 1947, 1948, 1951
Evonne Goolagong (AUS)	0	4	4	1974, 1975, 1976, 1977(Dec)
Steffi Graf (GER)	0	4	4	1988, 1989, 1990, 1994
Monica Seles (YUG / FRY / USA)	0	4	4	1991, 1992, 1993, 1996
Martina Hingis (SUI)	0	3	3	1997, 1998, 1999
Martina Navratilova (USA)	0	3	3	1981, 1983, 1985
Joan Hartigan Bathurst (AUS)	2	0	2	1934, 1936
Victoria Azarenka (BLR)	0	2	2	2012, 2013
Jennifer Capriati (USA)	0	2	2	2001, 2002
Chris Evert (USA)	0	2	2	1982, 1984
Thelma Coyne Long (AUS)	2	0	2	1952, 1954
Hana Mandlíková (CZE)	0	2	2	1980, 1987
Naomi Osaka (JPN)	0	2	2	2019, 2021
Mary Carter Reitano (AUS)	2	0	2	1956, 1959
Aryna Sabalenka	0	2	2	2023, 2024