Tennis Australia’s (TA) president Geoff Pollard confirmed three backers are in the running but Korean-based Kia Motor Corporation appears the favourite for a multi-year, multi-million dollar agreement.
Although a deal may be inked by the end of this week, Australian Open chief executive Paul McNamee was “not at all hopeful” that a major sponsor would be found before the October 30 deadline. “We’ve got a few balls in the air and we’re also looking at our options if we don’t have a major sponsor,” he said.
Should Kia become the major backer, there would have to be some compromise in the terms. TA had said it would not seek another car manufacturer as Ford entered a four-year agreement earlier this year as the tournament’s official vehicle supplier.
The championship is not expected to absorb any shortfall as associate sponsor Heineken is at the start of a second four-year deal. Furthermore, with a record prize money pool of A$16.5million ($8.4m/B9.4m), up 17.2 percent, next January’s event appears stronger than ever. Ladies and men’s champions will receive A$1m ($508,000/B569,000).
