Australian Open director worries about doubles "Not meaning enough"

The 2024 Australian Open ended on January 28. Craig Tiley, director of the tournament, has expressed his concerns over the future of the doubles events which witnessed low crowd attendance and audience viewing figures in all doubles finals.

"I think we may have lost our way a little bit, we're not meaning enough," Tiley said. "We've got to get things right, and we can't keep spinning our wheels on things, and make some decisions."

The Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) is undertaking a review of the doubles tennis events. According to The Guardian, the outcomes of the review may trigger widespread reforms in professional tours and the four Grand Slams. The newspaper quoted an anonymous source who said that the doubles events "might not have much of a future and certainly not in its current state."

"I take an approach from a leadership point of view that I'd rather ask for forgiveness than permission," Tiley said. "Because otherwise you're just not going to be able to move at the speed that you can move at. The sport globally needs to look at it the same way, and do some things that really help it accelerate."

When Hsieh Su-wei of Chinese Taipei paired with Elise Mertens of Belgium to play Lyudmyla Kichenok of Ukraine and Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia for the women's doubles title at the Australian Open on January 28, more people went to a music concert at the nearby John Cain Arena than attending the match.

The men's doubles final between Rohan Bopanna of India, Matthew Ebden of Australia and the Italian pair, Simone Bolelli and Andrea Vavassori, on January 27, drew fewer spectators than the women's singles final between China's Zheng Qinwen and Belarus' Aryna Sabalenka on the same day.

"There is space for tennis in doubles to have fans engaged, closer to the court, maybe some music, maybe no sitting down after one end," Ebden said. "Just keep the game running, keep it interactive."