Dismissing concerns about boorish crowd behaviour, tournament boss Craig Tiley stridently believes the Australian Open remains the “Happy Slam”.
The 2025 Open has been marred by a series of ugly episodes involving rowdy spectators, chiefly the booing of Novak Djokovic after the 10-time champion’s injury-enforce withdrawal during his semi-final against Alexander Zverev.
Foul-mouthed taunts towards Danielle Collins during the former women’s finalist’s second-round win over Australian Destanee Aiava also prompted Djokovic to agree some fans had crossed the line.
But Tiley on Sunday ruled out introducing alcohol restrictions or scheduling changes after disgruntled punters also felt short-changed after paying big money for short sessions, such as with Djokovic’s retirement or Jannik Sinner’s one-sided quarter-final win over Australia’s Alex de Minaur.
“To change the schedule because you think someone may default wouldn’t be a wise thing to do,” Tiley told AAP.
“I’m not worried about the crowd behaviour.
“I was at the Davis Cup a couple of months ago in Malaga and no one complained about the crowd behaviour there, and you couldn’t hear yourself speak.
“The Australian team were against the wall. It was in Spain, but the Italians were going crazy.
“So I struggle to understand why people think that’s different. That’s far worse (behaviour).”
Asked if fans had overstepped the mark this tournament, Tiley insisted: “The majority – 99.9 per cent of fans – absolutely not.
“I fully expect controversies. With one million people coming through the gate for over three weeks, if there’s nothing, that would be a bit strange.
“There’s always going to be one or two that heckle or say something. The same thing last year and the year before.
“But it’s not like the number of evictions we’ve had have gone crazy high. Evictions have been on par with previous years, or fewer.
“And our officials are instructed very clearly that, if they get a call for any disruption of play, they radio in and security go to the people.”
Also dismissing a newspaper headline that the Open has become “The Bogan Slam”, Tiley emphatically believes tournament organisers have struck the right balance between entertaining attendees and ensuring players are respected while on court.
“The people who write that probably weren’t even here or they have got an axe to grind about the slam,” he said.
“There’s always going to be one or two people that make it unpleasant for others. That’s human behaviour.
“So whatever people say the word ‘bogan’ or that it’s not a ‘Happy Slam’, they’re definitely not here.
“I want to look more at like the number of fans who come through the gate and the energy and the enjoyment that they’re having is at an all-time high.
“So we’re not going to design an event where we’re going to keep people silent because then the next question is going to be, ‘Why aren’t people enjoying it?'”
Above all, Tiley is adamant the Australian Open still holds its reputation among players of being the best event on the tennis calendar.
“The way I assess the tournament is listen to the fan feedback, listen to the player feedback and listen to our team’s feedback – and again it’s all been exceptional,” he said.
“So from the fans’ point of view, yes, we’ve had a record crowd through the gates.
“We don’t focus on it, we focus on the quality of the experience and all our customer satisfaction scores are equal or better than they were last year.
“And on the players’ side, again if it’s any indication, they thank us publicly, they thank us privately and the number of notes I have or emails or WhatsApp messages saying ‘Thank you again’, then this is by far the best tournament.”
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