Emirates Named Official Airline of Australian Open

October 27, 2014

Airline Emirates has announced a partnership with Tennis Australia to rebrand the elite summer series the Emirates Australian Open Series.

The announcement comes a day after Emirates was named official airline partner of the Australian Open.

The extension of the Australian Open deal sees Emirates partner with all five events within the Australian Open Series: Hopman Cup (Perth), buy Brisbane International, Apia International Sydney, Hobart International and the World Tennis Challenge (Adelaide).

Tom Larner, Tennis Australia’s Director, Events and Facilities, commented: “Every year the Australian Open Series delivers world class tennis to five capital cities around the country.”

“Our new partnership with Emirates reflects the prestige reputation of this series, which draws the world’s top players to our shores each summer. This season alone we’ll see Roger Federer and Maria Sharapova compete in Brisbane, Andy Murray, Serena Williams and Perth’s own Casey Dellacqua at Hopman Cup, Nick Kyrgios will play in Perth as well as joining Samantha Stosur in Sydney. While at the WTC in Adelaide Marin Cilic and John McEnroe are just two of the big names competing.

“It’s an exciting step forward for the Australian Open Series, and we can’t wait for Emirates to join us in delivering these events this summer.”

Sir Tim Clark, President of Emirates Airline, said the new deal reflected the airline’s commitment to tennis and its strategic ambition to promote Australia as a travel destination.

“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,” Sir Tim said.

“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.

“Partnering with the Australian Open and the Emirates AO Series demonstrates our ongoing commitment to Australians. Sharing and supporting our customers’ passions is key to our sponsorship activity, and we plan to utilise this partnership to enhance the fan experience and create an even stronger connection with our customers in Australia.”

In Australia, Emirates’ diverse sponsorship portfolio includes the Emirates Melbourne Cup, Emirates Australian Open golf tournament, PGA Championship, Perth International, Collingwood Football Club, the Adelaide Festival and the Sydney and Melbourne Symphony Orchestras.

Emirates is a major supporter of tennis worldwide, partnering with some of the highest profile events on the tennis calendar: Grand Slams Roland Garros and the US Open, the US Open Series, Dubai Tennis Championships (UAE), BNP Paribas Open (USA), Barcelona Open (Spain), Internazionali BNL d’Italia (Italy) and Rogers Cup (Canada).