Craig Tiley speaks about ‘master plan’ amidst reports claiming Australian Open’s potential move to China


Craig Tiley speaks about ‘master plan’ amidst reports claiming Australian Open’s potential move to China

Craig Tiley

The 2023 tennis season has begun with United Cup in Australian cities. The next in line is Adelaide International and then the season’s much-awaited first Grand Slam, Australian Open. Amidst the thrilling on-court actions some reports have emerged claiming the potential move of the Australian Open to China. 

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Clarifying about these reports, Tennis Australia Chief Craig Tiley has shed some light on the future of the Australian Open. He made it clear that the tournament will stay in Australia despite the financial issues. Tiley also discussed the need for a ‘‘master plan’ to be worked on with the government.

“We do need to develop another master plan and work with the state government on it,’’ Tiley said. He further discussed the need to have another stadium to enhance the facilities at the event as he believes the Open is facing tough competition from other three Grand Slams.

“There will be a need for more courts, as the event grows onto a three-week event,” Tiley told media. 

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Reasons behind the reports claiming shift of Australian Open from Melbourne

Australian Open

Australian Open has been facing with some financial constrains. Covid pandemic induced restrictions and limited crowd acceptance during the games earlier are the reasons behind the dried up resources. Craig Tiley revealed that Tennis Australia exhausted its £45million cash reserves to deal with the pandemic. 

Among these financial hardships Tiley opened up about the interset of Sydney and China to hold the tournamwent. Tiley cited the lack of facilities in comparison to the other Slams as the major reason other cities trying to ‘steal’ away the tournament. He revealed the $1 billion given to the organization over the past decade to enhance the facilities was not enough. 

At the end, Quashing all these reports Victorian government has clarified thet Melborne will continue to host the event till 2046 as per the contract. Fans can not wait now for some mouthwatering clashes among the greats of tennis. All eyes are on now on the defending champion Rafael Nadal and the 9-time winner Novak Djokovic as the caravan moves to Melborne on January 16th.

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