Tennis officials lauded an historic day in tennis this morning with the official launch of the newest event on the world tennis calendar.
Tournament Director Steve Ayles officially launched the Brisbane International during a special presentation at the Gallery of Modern Art in Brisbane this morning.
“This is an historic day for Queensland and Australian tennis. International tennis at the highest level is coming back to Brisbane in January and frankly, we can’t wait,” Ayles told a gathering of local dignitaries and media.
Some of the highlights of next year’s event include:
- Top player line up including Novak Djokovic, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Richard Gasquet, Gael Monfils and Marcos Baghdatis (who was announced this morning) as well as French Open winner Ana Ivanovic and top Queenslander Samantha Stosur
- More than $1 million in prize money
- $9.90 ground pass, described as one of the best value tickets in sport
- State-of-the-art venue, which includes a 5500-seat covered centre court
- Plans to broadcast the event to national audiences on the Seven Network, and around the world, for seven days
- Jam-packed on-site entertainment schedule including live bands, giant screens, and an interactive kids’ zone with bouncing castles and climbing walls.
Ayles said the interest in the event is already strong. “Our early ticket sales have been sensational. We believe the people of Brisbane are really going to take this event to their hearts.”
“We also know that a lot of the top players we talk to are very much looking forward to coming here, not just for the tennis but to enjoy some of the many attractions of south-east Queensland.”