Stars turn out for Open parties (and some actually watch the tennis)

Now that the Open’s cheekily rebranded “Opening Week” has ended (with three times the crowds who used to come to the old “Qualifying Week”), the actual tournament started on Sunday.

But did any of the galaxy of famous creatures, sports stars, captains of industry, Melebrities and legends of their own Instagram feed attending Melbourne Park actually extricate themselves from the corporate hospitality to watch any of the tennis?

New kid on the block and freshly minted Tennis Australia chair Chris Harrop made his corporate hospitality debut hosting some of the biggest names at an exclusive dinner at Tennis Australia’s rooftop “O” venue, accessible only via a concealed lift and premium lanyard.

Invitees were treated to a multi-course dinner of jasmine-poached rock lobster or Mayura Station Wagyu rump cap before they were shepherded down a small passageway that opened out with direct access to the best seats in the house at Rod Laver Arena.

Harrop graciously invited his predecessor as chair, Jayne Hrdlicka, who must have enjoyed the chance to watch her first AO match in 10 years just for the fun of it. Heck, she didn’t even need to turn up on time. The ex-boss at a2 Milk and Virgin has reinvented herself as the new chief executive of booze merchants Endeavour Group, owner of Dan Murphy’s and BWS.

When asked whether he had Hrdlicka’s stamina for sitting through long games of tennis (a key part of the chair’s job at this time of year) Harrop said perhaps some “late night coffees and Melbourne’s cold weather may help at times”.

Hrdlicka was known to snack on almonds to keep her going through five-setters, but Harrop said he had no such tricks up his sleeve.

“I am partial to a cashew, but I’m not sure that’s going to help me,” he laughed.

Roger Federer, the star of Saturday night’s “opening ceremony”, later turned up to enjoy the match, sitting beside his hero Rod Laver. Together, the pair were asked to pose for selfie with star-struck world No.1 Aryna Sabalenka after her first round win.

Among the other tennis legends in attendance were Judy Dalton and Wendy Turnbull, who sipped on a Pepsi with ice. Via our back-of-the-envelope calculations, they won 38 grand slam championships across singles, doubles, and mixed doubles between them.

Also dining at O were retired Olympic champion Ariarne Titmus, who flagged an early exit if the match ran too late, and Olympic cyclist and T-shirt clad Tour de France winner Cadel Evans.

Columnist for this masthead and ABC radio locum host Waleed Aly, with wife Susan Carland, headed to the bar and jumped on the botanical infused mocktails.

Cult anonymous blogger and clothing reviewer Fashion Critical paid the ultimate tribute to personality/showbiz survivor Kerri-Anne Kennerley by actually taking off her hat and sunglasses to say hello.

Melbourne cool kids in the top seats included nightclub impresario Nick Russian, hairdresser to the stars Joey Scandizzo, fashion designer Nadia Bartel and shoe designer Lana Wilkinson.

Catering impresarios Bruce and Chyka Keebaugh were enjoying a rare night off. The duo have just sold part of their Big Group catering firm to giant multinational Compass Group, which via its Levy subsidiary has the prime catering contract for the Open.

Cheekily we asked them to critique the food for us. No notes!

On-court privileges

Elsewhere, Melebrity major events specialist Bec Judd – who accessorised with husbo Chris Judd, the former Carlton/West Coast captain – was gifted some of the best seats in the house courtesy of sponsors Piper-Heidsieck champagne.

The Judds were led deep into the secret city underneath Rod Laver Arena, normally the preserve of players and officials, to a specially constructed sushi omakase room (helmed this year by Shimpei Raikuni, from Sushi Room in, er, Brisbane).

Then the couple were granted the OG privilege of the Open’s on-court seats, which number just 16, close enough to watch Carlos Alcaraz dump his sweat towel in an adjacent hopper.

Open Season spies recently spotted the couple at Sorrento’s InterContinental Hotel a week or so ago, dining with friends Sam and Brittany Groth. Squad!

Brittany does marketing and partnerships for the InterContinental Hotel, while Groth, an ex-tennis player who boasts the world record for the fastest serve, had an equally fast political career, recently huffily announcing he was quitting his role as deputy Liberal leader and indeed politics after a single term. Clearly no five-setter.

Influencers and AFL players

At a Melbourne major event, you are never more than 10 meters away from an Instagram influencer, or a Collingwood football player. And so it proved as sponsor Emirates hosted Collingwood players Isaac Quaynor and Jack Crisp, who stood outside posing for photos with Crisp’s wife Mikayla when she was pleasantly accosted by a passerby who knew her family antecedents back in Wodonga.

And lining up for the prestigious on-court seats were the AFL Daicos brothers, Nick and Josh Daicos, along with Josh’s fiancee, Annalise Dalins.

Over at Casa Altos’ tequila bar (new category sponsor alert!) at Grand Slam Oval, a few Melebrities mingled under the watchful eye of a larger-than-life statue of brand ambassador Thanasi Kokkinakis.

AFL players Conor Nash and Jack Gunston, who play for Hawthorn, just for something different, were joined by NRL player Cameron Munster, chatting over tequila cocktails before watching the arena matches.

A later arrival was the first woman jockey to win the Melbourne Cup, Michelle Payne, along with newish boyfriend Gabriel Ribeiro, proving yet again that Melbourne’s major events squad are eternally attending each other’s festivities.

Big Three reunite Down Under

Tennis Australia has found a way to get the sport’s Big Three to Melbourne this AO.

Still basking in Federer’s return to Melbourne for Saturday night’s opening ceremony, news has hit our desk that Rafael Nadal is also headed for Melbourne Park.

On top of 10-time champion Novak Djokovic’s charge for another title in Melbourne, that makes for a heady mix of big tennis names Down Under.

Two-time champion Nadal last played at the Open in 2023 and, 12 months later, was injured in Brisbane and had to miss the 2024 Australian Open.

Subsequently, that season became his farewell year to the sport he dominated for the past two decades with Federer and Djokovic.

Nadal will feature alongside Ash Barty and Dylan Alcott for a “night of legends” event on Kia Arena before the men’s final on February 1. The session will have live music, the chance to win men’s final tickets and a photo session with Rafa.

Tennis Australia says tickets for his event will go on sale at midday on Monday.

With Gemma Grant

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