The Australian Open set a grand slam attendance document with greater than 900,000 spectators visiting over three weeks, organisers mentioned on Tuesday, regardless of the absence of some big-name gamers and schedule disruptions on account of rain.
A document 839,192 followers flocked to Melbourne Park 16-29 January for the primary event in two years freed from Covid-19 restrictions, beating the earlier mark of 812,174 set in January 2020.
The figures eclipse final yr’s attendance numbers at different grand slam primary attracts – 515,164 visited Wimbledon, 613,500 have been on the French Open and 776,120 went to the US Open.
Over 60,000 additionally watched the qualifying occasions in Melbourne, bringing the entire as much as 902,312.
The event, lacking the retired Serena Williams, Roger Federer and final yr’s homegrown champion Ash Barty, broke its single-day attendance mark with 94,854 followers visiting on 21 January. The earlier document was 93,709 set in 2020.
“It was reported that we didn’t have the greats any more, that it was going to be terrible. But people just want to be entertained,” Tennis Australia chief government Craig Tiley instructed the Melbourne Age.
“They want to have some fun, and tennis is a great option for them, and it’s become a summer thing to do for Melburnians and for Australians and also for our guests from around the world.”
Tiley has set his sights on breaching the a million mark subsequent yr.
“This year was the start of it,” Tiley mentioned. “It’s going to be a three-week extravaganza.”
Novak Djokovic beat Stefanos Tsitsipas on Sunday to win his tenth Australian Open crown, drawing stage with Rafa Nadal on 22 majors, and reclaim the world primary rating
Aryna Sabalenka gained her first grand slam title with victory over Elena Rybakina on Saturday.
Reuters
