Andrew Abdo spent his first month as Australian Open CEO doing what his predecessor Craig Tiley avoided: making the format question go away. Abdo said this week the tournament will keep best-of-five sets for men through the current broadcast cycle, ending whispers that had circulated since the ATP Finals switched to best-of-three in 2021 and the NextGen Finals adopted short sets in 2017. The statement matters because Tennis Australia is 18 months into a nine-year domestic rights deal with Nine Entertainment worth roughly $505 million and two years into a global deal with Discovery that runs through 2031. Both contracts priced a product with five-set men's semifinals that can run past 1am Melbourne time and generate the kind of Nadal-Djokovic epics that justify the spend.
The format debate surfaced publicly after the 2023 tournament when several players floated shortening men's matches to align with the WTA's best-of-three structure. Tiley, who ran the Australian Open for 17 years before moving up to Tennis Australia CEO in December, never committed either way. His silence let sponsors and broadcasters wonder whether the product they bought might change mid-contract. Abdo's clarity is the kind of thing rights buyers notice. Nine Entertainment's deal includes 160 hours of live coverage across its broadcast and streaming platforms. Discovery's global package covers 16 Grand Slam tournaments across tennis's four majors through 2031. Both deals assume a product architecture where men's matches can deliver four-hour dramas and women's matches deliver two-hour precision. Changing the men's format would have required either renegotiation or acceptance that the broadcasters got a different product than they paid for.
The decision protects Tennis Australia's negotiating position when the current deals expire. The Australian Open generated $472 million in revenue in 2023, making it the Southern Hemisphere's most valuable annual sporting event. About 35 percent of that revenue comes from broadcast rights, with the rest split between ticketing, sponsorship, and hospitality. The tournament's value proposition to broadcasters rests on being the only major in the Asia-Pacific time zone and delivering the first Grand Slam storylines of each calendar year. Five-set finals that stretch into Sunday evening Melbourne time hit Monday morning in Europe and Sunday night in North America, creating a 16-hour programming window that fills dead air across three continents. Best-of-three would compress that window and reduce the inventory.
Abdo's background explains the speed. He spent eight years as CEO of Australia's National Rugby League, where he renegotiated a $4.5 billion broadcast deal in 2021 and managed the product through Covid disruptions without giving rights holders a discount. He knows the cost of ambiguity. The NRL's deal with Nine Entertainment and Foxtel runs through 2027 and includes provisions that protect format and scheduling. Tennis Australia hired him specifically to manage the next round of negotiations, which will likely start informal discussions in 2029 for deals that take effect in 2032. Killing the format question now means broadcasters can model the Australian Open's value without a format discount.
The players who want shorter matches are mostly outside the top 20, where five-set battles in the fourth round mean little for earnings and much for injury risk. The top 10 prefers the current system because it rewards fitness and creates the endurance narratives that drive endorsement value. Djokovic's Australian Open wins have come through a combined 87 sets played, an average of 8.7 sets per tournament. That workload is part of his brand architecture. Cutting to best-of-three would compress the product without necessarily expanding the player pool that wins majors, since the top five have better coaching, recovery, and preparation infrastructure.
Abdo's next move will be naming a new tournament director. Tiley held both roles until December. The Australian Open has expanded its site footprint by 30 percent since 2020, adding new courts and a retractable roof on Margaret Court Arena. The tournament runs 14 days starting in mid-January, overlapping with the Australian bushfire season and Melbourne's summer heat waves. Five-set matches in 38-degree heat with the roof closed are the product. Broadcasters paid for that. They'll keep getting it.
The takeaway
Abdo's format clarity protects Tennis Australia's $505 million rights base and sets terms for 2029 renegotiations without giving players leverage to compress the product.
Editorial & Disclosure Notice: This article was written with artificial intelligence from public sources and is published without individual human review. Artificial intelligence and other digital tools are also used for research, analysis, editing, formatting, and production. Errors, omissions, outdated information, or inaccuracies may occur. References to companies, brands, products, services, organizations, or individuals are for informational and editorial purposes and do not imply endorsement, sponsorship, affiliation, partnership, or approval unless expressly stated. All trademarks and other intellectual property remain the property of their respective owners. Opinions, analysis, estimates, and commentary are informational only and should not be construed as financial, investment, legal, tax, medical, procurement, or other professional advice. Information may be corrected, clarified, or updated after publication. Corrections or removal requests: jenny@pops4.com.
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