Sports
How the Australian Open became the tennis Silicon Valley, from roofs to party courts
MELBOURNE, Australia — There are plenty of reasons to travel to Melbourne for the Australian Open each January, especially from a winter climate.
It’s sunny, it’s warm and Aussies at Melbourne Park are good with beer at noon and banter all day. Roger Federer had it about right when he nicknamed this event the “happy slam”.
The Australian Open also doesn’t treat tennis like a fragile museum piece, never to be touched or tweaked because ‘that’s not the way it’s done’, or one of those other haughty phrases the guardians of the game use to rationalize their stodginess.
This is the signal Grand Slam: the event that starts each season and offers a window into where tennis is headed with remarkable and deliberate regularity, all on the north bank of the Yarra River. Retractable roofs; 10-point deciding tiebreaks; cameras in the player tunnels and glitching cartoon tennis stars: it all debuted here. What California is to America, Australia has often been for tennis — the lab where new stuff goes for a test drive before being pushed out in so many other places.
“We’ve always tried to keep pushing the business,” said Machar Reid, the head of innovation for Tennis Australia, in an interview in Melbourne.
This year’s innovations have been especially visible. Coaches are sitting in pods on the three main courts with tablet computers packed with live stats, rather than in a box above the court and in the stands, where they had to lean over to chat with players craning their necks and cupping their ears to hear a potential gem among the noise.
Carlos Alcaraz talks with his coaching team during his fourth-round match against Jack Draper. (Clive Brunskill / Getty Images)
Even players who were against allowing any coaching, who really hated having a rule against coaching when it was happening match in, match out, have got on board.
“I always thought tennis is an individual sport where you kind of have to figure things out on your own in a way,” said Alexander Zverev, world No. 2.
“If tennis is going that way, then it should go that way to 100 percent.”
Novak Djokovic and his coach Andy Murray are having a face-to-face chat between sets. Iga Swiatek and her coach Wim Fissette are trading words between points. That kind of closeness is natural for a tournament that turned its underbelly — the tunnels under Melbourne Park that house the player areas and allow the best in the world to move freely and privately between the gym, the lounge, and their matches, bumping fists and talking shop as they go — into one large Big Brother live feed.
It’s probably a safe bet this is all coming soon to a tournament near you. Maybe not the Big Brother.
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The AO, as it calls itself (a little less grand than Wimbledon’s “The Championships”) was the first Grand Slam to have one retractable roof, then two, then three. It was the first to bring cameras into the bowels of the stadium, following players as they walked to the court through that fancy tunnel with all the photos and names of past champions.
The net camera first became a main staple here, according to organizers. It had the first heat scale, and the first air quality scale.
The U.S. Open fashions itself as a food and style and tennis technology hotbed. Tennis Australia has gotten some heat for that this year, as the tournament, along with some other Grand Slams have done away with the electronic let sensor. The chair umpire makes the call based on whether they hear the ball tick the net, a system tournament officials insist is reliable.
Players don’t agree. Zverev called it “quite ridiculous”.
“Every single corner of everything has a camera. We have video review and all the high-end technologies that we can possibly have. But a simple let machine that we’ve been using for the past 25 years is not available at a Grand Slam.”
Chances are, most spectators don’t pay it any mind. At the Australian Open, fans come for the tennis, but stay for the music festival.
All afternoon and into the evening, there are guitarists and singers performing in the main plaza between the courts, where fans take a break from the matches — if they ever make it to them in the first place. Those couches and pillows strewn across the shaded, artificial grass where the music plays make for an awfully pleasant spot to spend an evening sipping lager and whiskey.
Tennis fans enjoy the ‘Finals Festival’ at the Australian Open in 2023. (Kim Landy / Getty Images)
Last year, the tournament introduced innovations — by tennis standards — that have been long overdue.
Ushers began letting people take their seats between every game, rather than having to wait for a changeover, the old rule penalizing fans for going to the toilet, making them potentially miss 20 minutes of action. Players were caught slightly off-guard on the first day, but quickly got used to it and the change has spread elsewhere, especially in the higher sections of stadiums.
“We have been a little bit behind the other sports with changes and trying to keep the pace with the evolution of society and the new generation that we all know doesn’t have that much of a great attention span, and they want the movement,” Djokovic said Thursday night, after his third-round win over Tomas Machac. “That’s one of the ways to really try to open up a bit more and not have strict rules.”
There was another change — a bar and cafe next to a court instead of a bank of stands, with music and no limitations on noise during play. Last year, there was one. This year there is another. And just like that, taking a child to a tennis match, or catching up with a friend a few feet away from the action, becomes doable. Watching tennis no longer feels like the punishment your parents hand down when you misbehave: sit still and be quiet for the next three hours!
On the afternoon of the first Saturday, Rachel and Miki Petrovic, who were on their annual trip to the Australian Open from their home in Serbia, took in an otherwise forgettable doubles match over a beer as their seven-week-old infant, Violetta, rested beside them in a stroller.
“I have a baby,” Rachel told The Athletic. “Here I don’t have to worry about being annoying.”
A few feet away, Andrew Matthews and Danny Sincic, longtime Melbournians and attendees but first-time party-court visitors were enjoying a ginger beer and an IPA.
“Never been to anything like this,” Sincic said. “Makes it feel a bit more social than having to sit in the stadium without talking.”
“I don’t know how the players feel, but it’s good for us,” Matthews said.
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The players are basically fine with it. At this point, they know that when they play tennis in Melbourne Park, it might feel like a rugby match — especially if they play an Aussie. Chair umpires and stadium officials will attempt to keep the hometown faithful in line, but they don’t try that hard.
After all, that would rob the tournament of its more moments, such as Danielle Collins’ second-round win over home favorite Destanee Aiava. After enduring more than two hours of harassment from the Australian fans, Collins blew kisses to the crowd and thanked them in her on-court interview for helping her land a “big fat pay check”.
Djokovic, who ends up trolling crowds more often than anyone, gave Collins his full backing.
“Big fan of Danielle Collins,” he said the Thursday night after Collins’ interview. “We should try to look to connect more with the younger people and bring them. I want to see a little bit more entertainment.”
He has thoughts, including on-court dancers during changeovers or some version of a Super Bowl half-time show mid-match. Coco Gauff points out that in a sport with one-minute changeovers, it doesn’t really work. Maybe, somewhere in Melbourne, it’s already been noted on a whiteboard.
(Top photo: Brett Price / VWPics via Associated Press)
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Republican Minnesota Senate candidate Tom Weiler joins ‘Fox & Friends’ to discuss President Donald Trump’s blockade in the Strait of Hormuz as the U.S.-Iranian conflict continues and react to Gov. Tim Walz’s, D-Minn., criticism of the president.
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Saudi Arabia was among the countries seeing missiles fly into their airspace as a conflict broke out in the Middle East between the U.S. and Iran.
The prospect of Iran targeting its Middle Eastern neighbors like Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates put some sporting events on hold and questioned others. Formula 1 races in Saudi Arabia and Bahrain were canceled and rumors swirled around whether future WWE events could be held in the kingdom.
Roman Reigns celebrates his win during WWE’s Royal Rumble at Riyadh Season Stadium in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on Jan. 31, 2026. (Georgiana Dallas/WWE)
As the Trump administration brokered a ceasefire with Iran, WWE announced on Thursday that its Night of Champions premium live event will be held in Riyadh on June 27.
“We are proud to welcome Night of Champions back to Riyadh and look forward to delivering another unforgettable night of WWE action for fans in the Kingdom and around the world,” General Entertainment Authority chairman Turki Al-Sheikh said in a news release.
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Sami Zayn makes his entrance during Night of Champions at Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on June 28, 2025. (Georgiana Dallas/WWE)
The release touted that WrestleMania 43 will still be held in Riyadh in 2027. It will be the first time that WrestleMania is held outside the U.S.
WWE president Nick Khan was adamant before WrestleMania 42 that the event will still take place in Saudi Arabia despite the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.
“We’re doing WrestleMania next year in Saudi,” he said at a Sports Business Journal event, via The Sporting Tribune. “First time ever, WrestleMania will be outside the United States or Canada. And we’ve had a big, fruitful partnership with them.”
John Cena wrestles CM Punk during Night of Champions at Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on June 28, 2025. (Georgiana Dallas/WWE)
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He added that those complaining about WrestleMania being held in Saudi Arabia were a “vocal minority.”
Thousand-dollar tickets and hundreds of dollars in fees shocked some hopeful Olympic fans this month, but they did not keep LA28 from boasting strong sales in the committee’s first ticket drop.
LA28 announced Thursday that it sold more than 4 million Olympic tickets during the first ticket drop. The private organizing committee will have a second ticket drop in August with “refreshed inventory across all Olympic sports at a range of price points.”
But after the popularity of the first purchasing period, many of the lower-priced tickets have already been scooped up.
LA28 said roughly half of the total 1 million $28 tickets were sold during the locals presale, which was limited to people living near venue cities in Southern California and Oklahoma City.
The average price per Olympic ticket is less than $200, which includes a mandatory 24% service fee, and LA28 said about 75% of all tickets, including final events, will be under $400. The premier seats at high-demand events command more than $1,000 per ticket, but the highest priced categories make up about 5% of the total ticket inventory.
Artistic gymnastics sold out the quickest in Drop 1. Four new Olympic sports — flag football, lacrosse, softball and squash — sold all their available inventory for the first drop. After five days of local presale, global ticket sales opened and drew fans from 85 countries and all 50 states and U.S. territories. The largest international sales came from the United Kingdom, Canada, Mexico and Japan.
For the first female-majority Olympic Games, LA28 reported that women’s Olympic sessions outsold men’s 93% to 88% during the first drop.
“The response to our initial on-sale was nothing short of historic. Fans from near and far have spoken: the world wants to be part of the LA28 Games,” LA28 chief executive officer Reynold Hoover said in a statement. “The success of Drop 1 is about more than momentum — it reflects LA28’s commitment to delivering a fiscally responsible Games that create a lasting legacy for Los Angeles and its communities.”
Drop 2, which will begin in August, will have additional tickets across all Olympic sports, including those that may have sold out during the first purchasing windows. The registration period for Drop 2 opened Thursday and will continue until July 22. Fans who registered for the first drop of tickets but did not receive a time slot and fans who did not buy their maximum 12 general ticket allotment will automatically be entered into the random lottery Drop 2. The new registration period is only required for anybody who did not sign up for the initial drop.
Fans are still limited to 12 Olympic tickets and up to 12 soccer tickets that don’t count toward the general maximum. There is a four ticket per ceremony limit for the opening and closing ceremony that count toward the 12-ticket maximum, which is cumulative across all LA28 presales and ticket drops.
LA28 will have multiple ticket drops with assigned purchasing time slots before ticket sales move to a first-come, first-served format closer to the Games, which open on July 14, 2028. LA28 began its ticketing process earlier than most other Olympic Games with tickets going on sale more than two years in advance of the opening ceremony. The early timeline has created excitement for the first Summer Olympics in the United States since Atlanta 1996, but also prompted concerns about scheduling. Fans clamored for tickets with little information about which teams or athletes would be competing in most sessions.
Tickets are not refundable, but fans can opt for verified resale when LA28 launches its official resale system in 2027. AXS and Eventim is the official secondary ticket marketplace of the LA28 Games and Ticketmaster and Sports Illustrated Tickets have also signed on as additional verified resale platforms.
LA28 will have 14 million tickets available for the Olympic and Paralympic Games, which would eclipse the record of 12 million tickets sold for the Paris Games. Paris 2024 sold an about 9.5 million tickets for the Olympics, but used a different ticket system than LA28. For Paris, 3.5 million tickets were sold during the first phase, during which fans were required to buy tickets to at least three different sports instead of the option for single-event tickets available during LA28’s Drop 1 process.
Tickets for the 2028 Paralympics, which will be the first in L.A.’s history, will go on sale in 2027. Ticket sales and hospitality are expected to cover about $2.5 billion of LA28’s expected $7.1 billion budget for the first Games in L.A. in more than 40 years.
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An envoy for President Donald Trump has reportedly asked FIFA to replace Iran with Italy in the 2026 World Cup this summer.
The Financial Times reported the plan is an effort to repair the relationship between Trump and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, which soured after the former’s comments against Pope Leo XIV regarding the war with Iran.
United States special envoy Paolo Zampolli suggested the idea to FIFA President Gianni Infantino.
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President Donald Trump receives the FIFA Peace Prize from FIFA President Gianni Infantino during the FIFA World Cup 2026 Official Draw at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C., on Dec. 5, 2025. (Emilee Chinn/FIFA)
“I confirm I have suggested to Trump and Infantino that Italy replace Iran at the World Cup. I’m an Italian native, and it would be a dream to see the Azzurri at a U.S.-hosted tournament,” Zampolli told the outlet. “With four titles, they have the pedigree to justify inclusion.”
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment by Fox News Digital.
Italy had a chance to be in the World Cup already, but it lost in a penalty shootout to Bosnia and Herzegovina in a qualifying playoff final.
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Italy became the first World Cup-winning team to miss three consecutive tournaments after the 4-1 penalty shootout loss earlier this month.
“We still don’t believe it that we’re out and that it happened in this manner,” Italy’s Leonardo Spinazzola told reporters at the time, according to the New York Post.
“It’s upsetting for everyone. For us, for our families and for all the kids who have never seen Italy at a World Cup.”
While Zampolli told Infantino about his proposed plan, FIFA’s president said Iran “for sure” will play in the World Cup despite the conflict involving the U.S.
Mehdi Taremi of Iran celebrates after scoring a goal during a 2026 FIFA World Cup Asian Qualifiers Group A game against Uzbekistan at Azadi Stadium in Tehran March 25, 2025. (Fatemeh Bahrami/Anadolu)
“The Iranian team is coming, for sure,” Infantino said during the CNBC Invest in America Forum earlier this month in Washington, D.C.
“We hope that, by then, of course, the situation will be a peaceful situation. That would definitely help. But Iran has to come, of course. They represent their people. They have qualified. The players want to play.”
Infantino visited the Iranian national team in Turkey, which is where it has its training camp.
All three of Iran’s group stage games are scheduled to be played in the U.S. That remains the case after Iranian government officials suggested to FIFA that their games be moved to Mexico because they could not travel to the U.S.
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum revealed FIFA’s rejection of Iran’s request, and it is insisting Iran play where it’s scheduled — SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California, and Lumen Field in Seattle. Iran said earlier this month it would only decide on its team’s participation once it heard from FIFA regarding its relocation request.
Iran is scheduled to play at SoFi Stadium against New Zealand June 16 to begin its tournament. It will also play Belgium at the stadium before finishing group play against Mo Salah and Egypt in Seattle June 26.
FIFA President Gianni Infantino attends an international friendly between Mexico and Portugal at Banorte Stadium in Mexico City March 28, 2026. (Antonio Torres/FIFA/Getty Images)
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Trump wrote in a Truth Social post last month that Iran would be welcome to compete in the World Cup as scheduled, though it might not be “appropriate” considering the conflict.
“The Iran National Soccer Team is welcome to The World Cup, but I really don’t believe it is appropriate that they be there, for their own life and safety,” he wrote.
Trump also told Politico, “I really don’t care,” when asked about Iran’s participation in the tournament. Infantino, who has a strong relationship with Trump, said Trump has “reiterated” to him that the U.S. welcomes Iran’s team to compete.
Fox News’ Paulina Dedaj and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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