AO Press Release, July 19, 2018

Australian Open officials have launched their next phase of consultation to help inform plans for AO innovation beyond 2020.

The process will involve consulting with the large majority of professional players on the international tour to continue to ensure the Australian Open has a deep understanding of player needs and views.

“We pride ourselves on being a player-friendly Slam,” Australian Open Tournament Director and Tennis Australia CEO Craig Tiley explained.

“We have always consulted heavily with the playing group and this is simply the next phase of that process. 

“Next January we will unveil a state-of-the-art player facility. The shape, form and purpose of this magnificent facility is a direct result of ongoing discussions with the players.

“When we actively innovate, we do so with the aim of advancing the sport by enabling the playing group to perform to the best of their talents. Everything else falls in behind that. With that in mind, we have already begun our next planning phase. We want to go wide and deep with our player consultation as it is a critical time for the development of our event and our sport.” 

Tennis Australia will also seek player views on a wide range of topics and issues, including general playing conditions. The much-debated fifth set tie-breaker will be one of those issues.  

“Obviously in recent days there has been a lot of public comment on a fifth-set tie-breaker for the men. We encourage the discussion and we want to know what the players think. We also want to know what they think about a third-set tie-breaker for the women, how they feel about the current presentation of doubles and many other aspects of the existing playing conditions,” Craig Tiley said.

“This consultation is simply an in-depth information gathering exercise that will help inform our decision making regarding the next phase of innovation for our event,” he added.