Emirates Airline has signed a multi-year deal to sponsor the Australian Open tennis tournament and a number of preceding events in the country.
The Dubai-based carrier becomes the official airline of the tennis season’s first Grand Slam for the next five years, adding the tournament to its extensive sponsorship portfolio which also includes the US Open and Roland Garros.
As part of the new deal with Tennis Australia, Emirates will also partner all five events within what will now be rebranded as the Australian Open Series: the Hopman Cup mixed doubles event in Perth, the Brisbane International, the Apia International Sydney, the Hobart International and the World Tennis Challenge in Adelaide.
Emirates already has a similar deal in place with the United States Tennis Assocation (USTA) for the US Open Series, a sequence of summer events leading up to the US Open.
“The Australian Open is a first class sporting event drawing a truly global audience to Melbourne Park each summer, while millions more watch the action on screen,” said Emirates Airline president Sir Tim Clark.
“Our commitment to the Australian Open and the Emirates Australian Open Series is a natural extension of our existing tennis sponsorship portfolio around the globe, which now includes three of the four Grand Slams.”
One of the biggest corporate backers in tennis worldwide, Emirates currently serves as the official airline of the ATP World Tour and also supports a number of tournaments globally, including the Dubai Tennis Championships, the Barcelona Open and the Rogers Cup.
Financial terms of its new deal Down Under have not been disclosed
