How does Australia build a complete tennis industry chain?
2024-08-10
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[Global Times special correspondent in Australia Da Qiao] Tennis is a mainstream sport for Australians, creating billions of dollars in commercial value and tens of thousands of jobs for Australia every year. The Australian tennis industry has formed a complete industrial chain from venue operation, education and training, event hosting, game broadcasting to sports culture and sports tourism. According to statistics from the Australian Tennis Association, there are more than 15,000 tennis courts registered with the association. Special correspondents of the Global Times visited various parts of Australia and observed that from five-star hotels in Sydney to worker camps in mines in Western Australia, tennis courts are essential sports facilities. Many private homes in Australia also have private tennis courts. The reporter once went deep into a small town in central Australia and found that the local community center had a well-equipped clay tennis court. According to statistics from the Australian Tennis Association, online reservations for tennis courts in Australia increased by 38% in 2023.
Data map: Tourists check in at Melbourne Park to experience the atmosphere of the Australian Open. (Visual China)
All major cities in Australia attach great importance to the tennis economy. Take the Australian Open, the flagship tennis tournament of Australia, for example. During the tournament alone, the Australian Open contributes hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue to Victoria, where the host city Melbourne is located. According to statistics from the official website of the Australian Open, the tournament brought a record 530 million Australian dollars (1 Australian dollar is about 4.7 yuan) in revenue to Victoria in 2024. In the past ten years, the Australian Open has generated a total of 3.14 billion Australian dollars in revenue and added 2,351 direct jobs to the local area. "The 2024 Australian Open attracted a record audience, with more than 1 million fans attending the game in three weeks," said Tiley, the tournament director of the Australian Open. He also said that through broadcasting, the Australian Open showed the image of Melbourne and Victoria to audiences around the world, which will further promote local economic growth. According to statistics, the number of global viewers of the Australian Open in 2024 was 558 million, and the cumulative number of viewers exceeded 2.17 billion. To better promote Melbourne's image as the "sports capital", the Victorian government has invested A$1 billion in Melbourne Park, the venue for the Australian Open, and the nearby Olympic Park to transform the area into a theme park capable of hosting a variety of major sports competitions and art events.
Starting from the end of 2022, Australia also held two sessions of the United Cup tennis mixed team competition. In December 2023, a special correspondent of the Global Times watched the game on site and saw that Chinese athletes Zheng Qinwen and Zhang Zhizhen both performed well in the game. The "United Cup" is a team competition for countries, which fills a gap in Australian tennis events and promotes tennis in many major cities in Australia.
Tennis competitions in Australia are held all year round: professional tours, the Progress Series and numerous regional competitions provide professional tennis players with generous prize money and provide tennis enthusiasts - especially young people - with rich opportunities to participate in competitive sports.
In recent years, the popularity of tennis in Australia has continued to increase. According to statistics from the Australian Tennis Association, more than 1.52 million people in Australia participate in tennis. In addition, more than 600,000 primary and secondary school students practice tennis in schools or communities. As of September 30, 2023, the Australian Tennis Association has 88,000 registered athletes.
The "Tennis National Plan" formulated by the Australian Tennis Association also takes "attracting more people to participate" as an important purpose. Starting in 2023, the "Hotspot" tennis program and the "Aerobic" tennis program will be launched to attract young people, the elderly, indigenous groups and other segments of the population to participate in tennis activities suitable for them. In school education, the Australian Tennis Association cooperates with middle schools in various places to introduce tennis as a course in schools. In 2023, nearly 80,000 middle school students will take tennis classes in schools, a year-on-year increase of 32% and a 636% increase compared to five years ago.
However, it is not cheap to train a tennis player in Australia. The Australian Financial Review previously reported that Sydney professional tennis coach Kerry Doak said that it would cost at least 3 million Australian dollars to train an Australian Open champion.
A special correspondent of the Global Times checked the fees of several tennis training schools in Australia and found that the training fees vary greatly. For example, taking tennis courses at school is usually free or only costs a few to more than ten Australian dollars per time. The cost of youth or adult tennis training courses in the community ranges from 20 to 35 Australian dollars per time. The cost of one-on-one learning is higher, usually including a private coaching fee of 60 to 150 Australian dollars per time and a venue fee of several dozen Australian dollars. The cost of a tennis training course during the holidays usually ranges from 300 to 800 Australian dollars for a 4-5-day training course, depending on age and difficulty.
Many Australian children start learning tennis at around the age of 5, initially mainly for the purpose of keeping fit. Usually, talented and willing children will "get serious" about tennis training from around the age of 10. Doc said that a child who aspires to become an athlete must receive at least 3 to 5 hours of private lessons per week, which costs about 500 Australian dollars. In addition, as they get older, young tennis players need to receive about 3 to 4 hours of tennis training and 1.5 hours of fitness training every day outside of school hours. When entering the competition period, various expenses will increase significantly.
