Australian Open celebrates new Chinese sponsor with historic deal

The Australian Open Tennis Grand Slam has triumphantly secured the ‘largest Chinese sponsorship deal’ in the tournament’s history, with Baijiu brand Luzhou Laojiao.

The liquor brand is set to become an associate sponsor of the event for the next five years and places this deal ‘within the ballpark’ of Tennis Australia’s current deal with its major sponsor Kia, which is reportedly worth $60 million a year over five years.

The partnership is being viewed as a major win for organisers who have invested heavily in promoting the event to Chinese travellers and has now resulted in prize money for next year’s edition of the event climbing ten per cent to $43 million.

“We are delighted to welcome Luzhou Laojiao to the Australian Open partner family, a significant event in the history of our organisation,” Tennis Australia’s chief revenue officer, Richard Heaselgrave said.

“We’ve made no secret that China and the region are a major priority for the Australian Open and that we take our role as the Grand Slam of Asia-Pacific seriously.”

“The Australian Open is the biggest sports and entertainment event in the world in January, and the world’s best players and stunning tennis action attract the eyes of the world both in Melbourne and through our global broadcast.”

With over 750,000 visitors to the Australia Open this year as well as 1 billion broadcast viewers watching the action around the world, Luzhou Laojiao board chairman Liu Miao said, the partnership is “undoubtedly another historic milestone” in the internationalisation journey of the company.

“In the future, we will work closely together with the Australian Open in promoting the sport of tennis, establishing sports charity programs, and building a stronger consumer base to activate this comprehensive, multi-dimensional and long-term collaborative partnership, as well as to enhance our communications with our global consumers,” he said.