Kooyong Classic under threat as event does ‘not align’ with venue’s ‘core business’

The annual Kooyong Classic faces an uncertain future after the Kooyong Lawn Tennis Club board decided it would no longer be operationally involved beyond being a potential host venue.

Tournament director Peter Johnston will try to find a new partner or promoter to take over the exhibition event, but it will cease to exist if he is unsuccessful, two sources who were not authorised to speak on the record confirmed to this masthead.

The Kooyong Lawn Tennis Club board decided the Kooyong Classic no longer “aligns with the club’s core business”.Credit: The Age

Australian Open champion Jannik Sinner, teenage sensation Mirra Andreeva and former world No.1 Andy Murray were among the stars who played in this year’s Classic, held the week before the Australian Open.

The Kooyong Classic was first held in 1988 after the Australian Open moved to Melbourne Park, and returned from a two-year COVID-related hiatus last year.

New Kooyong club president Darren O’Loughlin said in a statement on Thursday that the Classic did not “align with the club’s core business” despite it being “an important and historical” part of the prestigious club.

“We are seeking a new direction for the event and exploring the scope for an external partner to take over all operations and delivery from 2025,” O’Loughlin said.

“This will enable Kooyong to focus on what it does best, which is to provide an iconic tennis stadium with an Australian Open-standard playing surface and world-class hospitality facilities.

“There is no doubt that Kooyong is the spiritual home of tennis in Australia, and we are exploring how we can transform this event to continue its legacy.”

Kooyong Lawn Tennis Club.Credit: Getty Images

The club previously contracted the Kooyong Classic to International Management Group (IMG), but Johnston, his small team and a band of club volunteers have gone it alone since the event was excluded from Tennis Australia’s broadcast deal with Nine (the owner of this masthead) five years ago.​

Johnston negotiated a separate domestic broadcast deal with SBS and a partnership with Mediapro Asia to establish an international audience, as well as locking in Care A2+ as naming rights sponsor.

It is a common model for sporting clubs that host events to not be involved operationally. Examples include Royal Melbourne Golf Club with the Presidents Cup, and pre-Wimbledon exhibition event the Giorgio Armani Tennis Classic at Hurlingham Club.

“We know the players love playing at Kooyong, as it gives them the all-important hitout against elite rivals in conditions that mirror the Australian Open,” Johnston said.

“As many of the top-ranked players can attest, like Jannik Sinner did earlier this year when he won the Australian Open crown, the Classic is the ideal launching pad into the Australian grand slam. The Kooyong board and I are optimistic about the tournament’s potential for growth, particularly in the global market.”

Tennis Australia has committed to turning the Australian Open into a three-week event, with a series of exhibition matches and events featuring big-name players coinciding with the qualifying tournament, so the national body is almost certain to not be the Kooyong Classic’s saviour.

Any potential new partner is more likely to come from overseas, the same sources said.

The development comes during a tumultuous period for the high-profile club, which reported in October a loss of $962,652 in the last financial year despite an increase in memberships and record operational levels.

That was a seven-figure swing from the previous year’s $980,000 profit, with an external auditor blaming poor financial management and reporting for a disastrous $2.4 million loss from Kooyong’s dining operations.

This masthead revealed exclusively in February this year that Kooyong chief executive Chris Brown had resigned after more than two decades in the role, a fortnight after club president Adam Cossar departed.

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