Furious Aussie tennis fans have told tournament boss Craig Tiley that his changes have ruined the Australian Open after he posted a tweet about why the tournament’s first week ‘keeps getting better’.
Open organisers were stunned when a record 73,235 arrived to cram into Melbourne Park for the opening session on Sunday, leading to all ground passes being exhausted for the first time ever on Day 1.
That beat the previous mark set in 2019, with crowds reaching more than 100,000 by the time the night-time session had finished.
US tennis legend and commentator Jim Courier was shocked by the sheer number of people who flooded Melbourne Park on Sunday.
‘It’s crazy – do you know how many people came through the gates?’ he said on Today.
‘This place is just bananas this year. I thought last year was amazing with over a million people coming through the precinct, but it’s gonna be well and truly above that.’
Record crowds crammed into Melbourne Park for Day 1 of the Australian Open, leading to long delays to get into the precinct
Tournament boss and Tennis Australia CEO Craig Tiley has come under fire for putting profits ahead of the fan experience
Tennis Australia CEO and Australian Open boss Craig Tiley posted an image of a packed Rod Laver Arena on Monday night as he trumpeted the success of the Open because of the increased crowds.
‘Why AO Opening Week Keeps Getting Better,’ he posted along with the image and a link to an article he’d written on LinkedIn.
That went down like a lead balloon with unhappy tennis fans who were forced to wait up to two hours in the sweltering Melbourne sun to gain access to the venue on Sunday.
‘With all due respect, it’s an amazing event. But went to my 8th AO today and by far was the worst fan experience ever,’ one fan fired back at the Australian Open boss.
‘Can not continue to oversell tickets and expect fans to wait upwards of 2 hours on outside courts to get a seat.’
‘Only lasted a couple of hours today. Too crowded, couldn’t get a seat, long queues for food, shoulder to shoulder trying to walk around outside courts,’ another said.
‘Worst I’ve experienced in 35 years of going.’
‘Amazing venue, too many people. Lines to get into courts are unreasonable. I got into Kia Arena early and had a great time but was shocked at the volume of people when I left,’ another fumed.
Spectators faced waits up to two hours to enter the Melbourne Park precinct, with reports of some fainting and others being left without tickets by the time they reached the gates
One fan who came to the tournament to see stars like Alex de Minaur (pictured) called the experience the worst they’ve had in 35 years
There were plenty of comments on social media saying the Open has ignored spectators’ wishes in order to chase the corporate dollar.
‘There’s a difference between the corporate dollar and the fan experience. Not as good as you think,’ one fan posted under Tiley’s statement.
‘Bigger crowds to meet TA’s growth and revenue KPIs they’ve set you… resulting in the average punter standing in a queue all day,’ added another.
‘More does not equal more. We and our viewing experience matter too, not just the bottomless grab for more $$$$$$$$$$,’ posted yet another.
Tiley told Channel Nine that organisers have intentionally focused on turning the Grand Slam into an event rather than just a tennis tournament.
‘It’s about entertainment, music and food, and then tennis,’ he said.
However, fans accused him of putting success before people’s safety.
‘Over 2 hours queuing in extreme heat at #AusOpen with no shade, no signage, and no usable on-site information,’ one spectator shared on social media.
‘People fainted. it was unsafe, poorly managed, and a complete customer experience failure. Strategy means nothing without execution.’
‘Are the high ticket sales something to be applauded and celebrated when fan safety is a major concern and being sacrificed? Food for thought I guess,’ questioned another.
The social media team also ruffled the feathers of fans standing in the heat by posting ‘Outside is jam packed’ with a smiling emoji with starry eyes.
‘What a debacle getting in to the tennis. I’ve been coming here for decades, I have never ever seen anything like it,’ an irate fan replied to that post.
‘From getting off the train at Flinders Street, it took an hour to get into the grounds! Lift your game or that’s 8 of us you’ve lost.’
But Tiley did say organisers would learn from Day 1 on Sunday and provide more resources throughout the rest of the tournament.
‘There was no question that we had more people coming on the grounds than we even expected,’ Tiley said.
‘We have so many things happening here and a lot of great tennis, so we had a lot of people showing up at the same time and that’s indicative of the interest of the event.
‘We’ll certainly put extra resources on early so the fans have a seamless entry.’
