One of the highly anticipated sporting actions of the year, the Australian Open 2022 is all set to begin on January 17. Around 70 of the world’s best tennis players are ready to compete, but the debated No. 1 seed and defending men’s singles champion Novak Djokovic is not among them.
The Australian Open is the first Grand Slam of the year. It is one of the four Grand Slam tournaments, which are fundamentally the highest prizes in professional tennis. The winner of the Australian Open receives a whopping 2,000 ranking points, which is important as the top 20 do not even make that many points throughout the season.
The Australian Open is held in Melbourne, which is known as the country’s sporting capital. Melbourne’s sports culture remains unmatched in comparison to other regions in Australia, earning it the title of ‘Best Sports Tourism Destination of the Year.’ With an endless list of sporting events on the calendar, it attracts a wide range of sports enthusiasts all year.
The six-time champion, Roger Federer and former US Open champion Dominic Thiem are among the big names who have already confirmed their absence. The 20-time Grand Slam winner is still recovering from knee surgery, while Thiem is postponing his season opener due to a wrist injury.
Along with Federer, Serena Williams, a 23-time Grand Slam winner, and last year’s Wimbledon runner-up Karolina Pliskova are both absent. Williams, 40, is still recovering from a hamstring injury suffered at Wimbledon, while Pliskova has a hand injury.
Though, the 20-time Grand Slam winner, Rafael Nadal is set to play despite an encounter with covid-19 last month.
Meanwhile, Djokovic was being held in detention, pending a court hearing to determine whether the unvaccinated tennis player can remain in the country. After his visa was revoked for the second time, the Serbian faced deportation because the government considered him a threat to public health.
TV and LIVE streaming details:
The Australian Open 2022, will be telecasted on Sony Sports Network. The competition will be live on the channels, SONY SIX, SONY TEN 2, SONY TEN 4 and SONY TEN 3. Indian fans can watch the live-action between top-seeded players on SONY TEN 3 in Hindi and SONY SIX, SONY TEN 2 and SONY TEN 4 in English. The first Grand Slam of the year will be live-streamed on SonyLIV, the network’s OTT platform.
beIN Sport and SuperSport will broadcast the competition in the Africa region. In Central Asia, the Middle East and Europe, Eurosport will be the official broadcaster.
beIN has acquired the media rights of the tennis tournament in 10 territories across the Asia-Pacific region for five years.
Sponsorships:
Tennis is one of the most popular and watched sports in the world, and the Australian Open tennis competition is one of the season’s most important events and therefore it is obvious that it will get served with heavy sponsorships. The Australian Open 2022 has a bunch of big sponsors which include KIA, Rolex, Emirates, ANZ, Luzhou Laojiao, ABC Bullion, Bondi Sands, Canadian club, Chemist Warehouse, Chubb, City of Melbourne, DeRucci, Dunlop, Grainshaker, Infosys, Marriott Bonvoy, Mastercard, Peroni, Piper-Heidsieck, Pure Blonde, Polo, Initial, Safety Culture, TMGM, Toshiba, Treasury wine estates, Uber eats, Melbourne and Yonex.
Kia has obtained the naming rights to Melbourne Park’s new 5,000-seat show court. The new Kia Arena seat show court was the third stage of the Melbourne Park redevelopment, which also included a new conference and events venue in Centerpiece at Melbourne Park, as well as two additional courts and logistics hubs.
Infosys has extended its partnership with the Australian Open. With this, Infosys will continue to hold the title of digital innovation partner.
The greatest of the great will contest for a fortnight on courts in men’s and women’s singles, doubles, juniors, and wheelchair championships. The tournament begins on Monday, January 17 and concludes on Sunday, January 30 with the men’s final.