Home and an Ace: All the photos of Summer Bay's finest getting into the Aussie Open over the years

The Surf Club should start dishing out free tennis lessons.

Jan 23, 2020 12:03pm

By Jess Pullar

January offers a plethora of summery possibilities to many of us, but for the residents of Summer Bay, it appears there's only one thing to be done: Watch tennis. And lots of it.

Over the years, the stars of Home And Away have made the trek from Palm Beach to Melbourne to watch the country's biggest tennis tournament take place.

And while the Australian Open itself is a celebrity spotting spectacle, fans of the beloved Aussie soap are usually most thrilled to see the familiar faces of The Bay watching on as games a-plenty take place.

As a result, we've got a whole archive of glorious moments from the tournament featuring the actors we can't help but watch on our telly every night.

While some have merely made the odd cameo here and there, others have proved they've been loyal fans since way back. Heck, one of them even married a tennis player (we're looking at you, Bec...).

So to reminisce on the Aussie spectacle, we've rounded up the best sightings of Summer Bay's finest at the Australian Open.

Keep scrolling for a Home and Away tennis special.

WATCH: Bec Hewitt talks about Lleyton Hewitt's amazing Aussie Open stint. Gallery begins after video...

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Ah, how could we forget the ultimate Aussie love story of the noughties? When Home and Away's Bec Cartwright hooked up with local tennis legend Lleyton Hewitt in 2004, it was like all our dreams came true at once. And thus began a yearly WAG spectacle at the Australian Open.

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In 2005, Bec rocked the blonde highlights that were oh-so-trendy at the time while she cheered her boyfriend on.

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She and Lleyton married later that year - after dating for nine months!

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And in a soap-turned-Hollywood spectacle, Aussie sweetheart Kate Ritchie was snapped with famed actress Charlize Theron at the 2006 tournament in Melbourne.

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Kate was all smiles that year as she attended alongside her then-partner Chris Walker.

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In 2007, Bec dished out some headband action as she tensely watched husband Lleyton pelt it.

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And now for something completely different - the following year, Bec debuted some seriously darker locks at the tournament. How very 2008 of her...

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Blonde or brunette, she can totally rock it.

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In 2011, a fresh faced Dannii Minogue was spotted court side - an early sighting of the balayage hair trend that dominated the decade.

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What a line up! Home and Away alum Tessa James and Jodi Anasta sat between rugby player Nate Myles in 2011.

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They're now husband and wife, but former attendees of Summer Bay High Luke Mitchell and Rebecca Breed dabbled in some tennis-watching back in 2012.

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Fast-forward to 2013, and Bec Hewitt was still making some seriously er, unique fashion choices left-right and centre...

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Dannii's back! After playing a troublesome teen on Home and Away back in the late 80s, Dannii proved she's bright and bubbly as ever these days.

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In 2013, Summer Bay's resident cop Kat, AKA Pia Miller, was joined by Aussie celebs Kris Smith and Firass Dirani for a court side spectacle.

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Bec opted to stand out from the crowd in 2014 with a zesty choice in clothing. She'd firmly called game, set and match on the brunette phase at this point.

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The same year, Dannii made a grand return - with a trendy hat to boot.

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Byron Bay's sweethearts Chris Hemsworth and Elsa Pataky made the journey to the Melbourne tournament in 2018, thoroughly thrilling the masses in the process.

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And they certainly looked to be having a grand old gander.

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Must have been a long game!

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Alright there, Alf and Leah? Yep, even Ray Meagher and Ada Nicodemou have gotten amongst the atmosphere. They're pictured looking a little tense here in 2018.

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