As another edition of hard-court tennis' iconic Australian Open Grand Slam tournament gets underway this coming Sunday (January 18), GlobalData Sport (Sportcal) analyses where the Melbourne event currently sits from a commercial point of view.
In terms of significant changes from the 2025 Australian Open, likely the most prominent is the record prize money that will be on offer this year for players at the iconic Melbourne Park venue, where the event is annually held.
Earlier this month, the Tennis Australia (TA) governing body - organizer of the fortnight-long hard-court championships - unveiled that a total of AUD$111.5 million ($74.88 million) will be distributed to players during the tournament. The prize fund is a 16% increase on the AUD$96.5 million handed out in 2025, with the men’s and women’s singles champions to receive AUD$4.15 million each this year – a 19% increase on last year’s offering of AUD$3.5 million.
This prize pot increase comes with TA having reported income of AUD$693 million for the 12 months up to September, an increase of AUD$102 million from the previous year, with part of that attributed to a lucrative new domestic media rights agreement.
The increase pushes the Australian Open up into second place in terms of prize money offered by the four Grand Slams, taking over from the Wimbledon Championships, which offered $72.5 million for the 2025 edition.
It has also been reflected in the 2026 tournament, already breaking attendance records - over 29,000 fans attended the first day of qualifying for the Australian Open, a record opening-day crowd at the grand slam.
The qualifying week in advance of last year's tournament brought in 116,000 fans - TA expects close to 300,000 during the equivalent period this year, as a contrast.
In unveiling the record prize money on offer, TA chief executive Craig Tiley said: "From boosting qualifying prize money by 55% since 2023 to enhancing player benefits, we’re ensuring professional tennis is sustainable for all competitors.
“This investment strengthens tennis’s foundation, ensuring the sport’s long-term health and commercial growth. By supporting players at all levels, we’re building deeper talent pools and more compelling storylines for fans.”
The increased interest in the tournament has not just been reflected in on-ground attendances - the last few weeks and months have seen multiple new brands come on board as event sponsors, culminating with ANZ, one of Australasia’s largest banking groups, securing naming rights to Show Court Three at Melbourne Park over the last weekend.
TA also announced at that time that realestate.com.au (REA) had become the official real estate partner of the Australian Open.
Earlier in January, meanwhile, iced tea brand Lipton and ridesharing app DiDi were brought in as sponsors.
December, meanwhile, saw TA add digital asset platform Nexo to its list of partners (thus bringing in the tournament's first-ever crypto sponsor), while in October, the organization secured international healthcare group Bupa as the tournament’s official healthcare partner and digital health partner, and Pernod Ricard-owned spirits brand Altos as the official tequila.
The Nexo agreement marks the first time a digital asset company has partnered with a Grand Slam tennis tournament - a major commercial move for the Australian Open as it looks to keep pace with its trio of rivals.
Other prominent sponsors include Dubai-based airline Emirates, tyre manufacturer Pirelli, car brand Kia (the event's sole Major Partner), luxury watchmaker Rolex, and M&M’S Australia - the Australian subsidiary of the chocolate brand owned by snack manufacturer Mars Wrigley.
The 2026 Australian Open also has a healthy stable of international broadcast partners in place to benefit its commercial partners.
On that front, a significant renewal came in mid-December, when Sony Pictures Network (SPN), the Indian pay-TV broadcaster, extended its exclusive rights covering the Australian Open across India and the subcontinent for another three years.
That broadcaster will continue to exclusively air the tournament on its linear sports channels and Sony LIV streaming service across India, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka.
Other significant broadcast partnerships remaining in place for this year's edition of the grand slam include deals in the Middle East and North Africa with BeIN Sports, with ESPN in the US, the Caribbean, and Latin America, with Warner Bros. Discovery across Europe, with CCTV in China, and with SuperSport in sub-Saharan Africa.
The Europe-wide tie-up with WBD is worth $40 million annually - every men's singles winner at the Australian Open since 2004 has come from the continent.
Domestically, meanwhile, coverage will be provided by Nine Network, which has a contract to that effect in place through 2029.
The deal, worth a record AUD425 million ($283 million) in cash over the five years, is about AUD125 million higher than Nine Network’s previous five-year contract, worth around AUD300 million in total and AUD60 million per year, covering the 2020 to 2024 editions.
Turning to other tie-ups that TA has put in place over the last few weeks and months, early January saw a deal covering betting data distribution struck with the Catalist Sports betting data provider.
That firm, through a multi-year tie-up, now holds exclusive US distribution rights - to sportsbooks - for Australian Open data.
The data and streaming partner of TA is currently the Infront Bettor division of the Switzerland-based agency, through a deal announced in mid-September. Catalist is serving as the exclusive Infront Bettor reseller in this instance.
US audiences will have numerous stars to support at the Australian Open, including players such as Taylor Fritz, Ben Shelton, and Coco Gauff, all of whom are expected to progress to the latter stages.
