In the past 15 months, Tennis Australia has suffered a net loss of more than 100 million Australian dollars due to delay in organizing the Australian Open tournament, the body’s annual report revealed on Friday.
The organizers of the Grand Slam tournament had suffered a huge financial burden after they had to fly players from around the world to Melbourne. Also, the players were quarantined for at least two weeks in a hotel, putting extra burden on the organizers.
The losses further increased when the people were not allowed to enter the Melbourne Park precinct due to the Covid-19 induced lock down, due to which ticket sales and on-site revenue generators dropped significantly.
The accounts department of the body showed that Tennis Australia suffered a net loss of 100.02 million AU$ from July 30 last year to September 30 this year.
The record also said that Tennis Australia had exhausted its cash reserves worth AU$ 80 million and that the body took out a loan of AU$ 40 million to set the next years tennis tournament.
The situation can become worse for the organizers as the cases of new Omicron variant of Covid-19 is emerging in the country due to which Australia has decided not to reopen its borders.
However, the organizers hope that the Australian Open in 2022 will happen in January with all the courts being opened for viewers on full capacity. This year, the tournament was shifted to February due to the lockdown.
The organizers also said that Australia will allow those players and officials, who have been vaccinated, to enter the country and play without any quarantine protocol.
