The Australian Open 2025 is set to break new records, with Tennis Australia securing more than 50 sponsors this year, up from 37 in 2024 – an increase of at least 35 per cent.
This impressive increase highlights the tournament’s growing appeal to major brands, positioning it as a premier event not only in sports but in global marketing. This growth is marked by the renewal of significant partnerships, including a three-year contract extension with hotel giant Marriott Bonvoy and the continued involvement of high-profile brands like Kia, Emirates, and Rolex.
Kia last year signed a $107 million deal that would extend its 22-year partnership with Tennis Australia for another five years.
Marriott Bonvoy’s renewed partnership offers members exclusive, money-can’t-buy experiences, including behind-the-scenes tours, professional clinics, and access to a private lounge during the tournament. Over its previous four-year sponsorship, Marriott has seen substantial gains in brand awareness and increased occupancy rates across its Melbourne hotels.
“The important point for us is that tennis is a world sport with four major grand slams, and when you think about our business, it is about global opportunities,” said Jason Nuell, vice president for Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific at Marriott International.
Last year, the Open signed up luxury brand Louis Vuitton to sponsor the tournament’s trophy cases- raising questions over whether the Open has officially run out of things for brands to sponsor. “Our job each year is to be really creative on how we find the right assets and the right opportunity for partners, and then when we go into the market, it’s not one of these approaches we take to put something up and hope someone sponsors it – it’s very carefully curated on finding something that works for the partner,” Tilley said.
When it comes to sponsorship opportunities with the tournament, it really does seem like the sky is the limit. The Australian Open has estimated that its iconic “Melbourne” sign on the court is worth a shocking $1 billion in advertising value for its two-and-a-half-week display. Though Chief Executive Craig Tiley acknowledges that no sponsor is likely to pay such a sum, the sign has an immense symbolic worth due to its global visibility.
As winter grips the northern hemisphere, millions of viewers tune in to witness the warm, sunlit scenes from Melbourne; the sign reinforces Australia’s image as a prime travel destination. Tiley explains that the objective is to “create that vision of how great it is to be in Australia, how great it is to be in Melbourne at that time of the year”, both serving as an advertisement for the City of Melbourne and the tournament itself.
The surge in sponsorship revenue in 2025 reflects Tennis Australia’s strategic shift from simple sponsorship deals to deeper partnerships. The tournament’s financial success, with revenues reaching $553 million in 2023—a nearly 10% increase over the previous year—demonstrates the effectiveness of this approach.
As the Australian Open 2025 draws closer, Tennis Australia’s strategy of crafting unique sponsorship opportunities continues to pay off. From a $107 million partnership extension with Kia to Louis Vuitton’s sponsorship of the tournament’s trophy case, nearly every aspect of the event has been thoughtfully curated to deliver value for its partners. Tiley notes, “Our job each year is to be really creative on how we find the right assets and the right opportunity for partners.”
The Australian Open not only showcases top tennis talent but also offers companies an unmatched opportunity to reach a vast and diverse audience, reinforcing Melbourne’s status as a global hub for sports and entertainment. With this strategic expansion, the Australian Open is poised to continue its upward trajectory in the sports sponsorship landscape.
