Australian Open 2024 manages to break record even as Saudi threat looms large ahead

The 2024 Australian Open concluded on the 28th of January.

Australian Open 2024 manages to break record even as Saudi threat looms large ahead

Australian Open fans and Aryna Sabalenka after her title win (via Tennis 365/ The Gist)

The 2024 Australian Open saw a record-breaking number of fans in the spectator seat, glued to the fascinating hit of balls by clinical players on the court. Right from the qualifiers to the end stages, the fans were more intrigued than ever before.

Even as the best players contested in the Melbourne Park courts, there was an incredibly wide range of food and snacks, entertainment, shopping and celebration for fans of all ages. Despite the links with Saudi Arabia’s influence on the tournaments, AO recorded a billion-dollar profit this year.

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Australian Open director Craig Tiley said during the finishing media reports that the first major yearly tournament remains at the center of Australia’s heart.

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In the women’s singles, Aryna Sabalenka defended her Australian Open crown by defeating Qinwen Zheng in the final, without losing a set. Jannik Sinner won his first Grand Slam in the men’s category.

This year’s edition of the Melbourne title challenge was adjusted from two-week attendance to three-week attendance for the first time, which shockingly saw a record 1,020,763 fans compared to the 2023 record of 839,192. The tournament boasted an additional 89,894 fans in attendance during the qualifying stage of the Australian Open taking the total tally of fans for the three-week competition to 1,110,657 fans.

The proposed Saudi Arabian influence

In November last year, the ATP was reportedly in talks with Saudi Arabia to host a new Masters 1000 event in January. The report was said to be targeted at wrecking the Australian Open build-up that had always been the tennis culture since its inception.

-Saudi Arabia will host the ATP finals event.
Saudi Arabia’s influence and top Tennis stars (Image via: YouTube/Imago)

However, it was outlined to begin in 2025 and would finish just a day before the start of the Australian Open. It also threatened the United Cup, a national team event from going as planned in early January. Also, the Adelaide International, Brisbane Open and Auckland Open were threatened by the rumoured development.

With billions of dollars now pumped into sports, Saudi Arabia is hoping to take the world by storm. Recently the rumours about the already signed agreement between the WTA Finals organizers and the Middle-Eastern country have sprung many legends and players into questioning the reason for such action.

Some tournaments now seeking sponsors due to the COVID-19 havoc may likely fall to the side of the oil-rich nation. Nevertheless, it is very uncertain whether a new tournament would replace any of the existing major ATP Tour events.

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