Tennis Australia Press Release, November 25, 2021
A massive summer of tennis will be held across three states – Victoria, New South Wales and South Australia – when the world’s best players begin their preparation for the first Grand Slam of the year, the Australian Open.
A record 17 tournaments will be staged before the AO, providing more competition opportunities for more players during the Australian summer than ever before.
“It’s incredibly important to have the world’s best players competing across the country, inspiring the next generation of players and growing interest and excitement in our sport,” Tennis Australia CEO Craig Tiley said.
“It’s also vital to provide competition opportunities for the playing group, and with an incredible 17 tournaments, we are pleased to announce we will have a record number of jobs for players here in Australia in January.
“We have worked closely with both the women’s and men’s Tours and would like to particularly thank our government partners across the country who have all been tireless in their efforts to bring the tennis back in 2022. I know it was sorely missed this year, and we are already planning to have a full program of events across the country in 2023.
“It’s also fantastic to bring tennis back to regional Victoria, where I know the local communities of Bendigo and Traralgon will welcome these global events with open arms.
“It is not news to anyone that the pandemic, closed borders and varying rates of vaccination created a massive challenge for us and led to the changes specifically for the summer. It’s why we waited as long as possible to secure optimal conditions for the players and fans in as many locations as we could,” Tiley continued.
The year will start with two weeks of tennis in Sydney, with the ATP Cup, followed by the new, one-off Sydney Tennis Classic, a combined men’s and women’s event featuring a WTA 500 and ATP 250.
Memorial Drive Tennis Centre in Adelaide will host two weeks of combined men’s and women’s Adelaide International competition, with the first week a WTA 500 and ATP 250, followed by a WTA 250 and ATP 250.
From the 3-9 January Melbourne Park will host three events – two WTA 250 tournaments and one ATP 250.
Australian Open Qualifying returns to Melbourne and commences on Monday 10 January. The Australian Open Junior Championships are also back and will be played during the second week of the AO, from 22-29 January.
A full calendar of wheelchair events will also be staged, with the Victorian Wheelchair Open and Melbourne Wheelchair Open both slated for the Hume Tennis Centre. The Australian Open Wheelchair Championships will run from 23-27 January at Melbourne Park.
“I would like to recognise and express our appreciation for the significant efforts of Tennis Australia in providing several WTA competition opportunities across various parts of Australia in 2022 as part of the summer of tennis,” WTA Chairman and CEO Steve Simon said.
“Holding these WTA events maximises key playing opportunities as we kick off the 2022 season and allows the WTA Tour to showcase women’s tennis live to our many fans across Australia,” Simon continued.
ATP Chairman Andrea Gaudenzi added, “The ATP Cup, combined with the four ATP 250 tournaments in the lead up to the Australian Open will provide a fantastic start to the 2022 ATP Tour season. There is no better place to kick off the season than in Australia and we look forward to seeing the fans out in force in January.”
Tickets for Australian Open are on sale now: ausopen.com/tickets
Additional information regarding player fields and ticketing for lead in events will be announced in the coming weeks.
