For tennis fans, the gamble – which backfired so spectacularly – was offensive. For tennis players, it must have felt even worse
At 8.06pm on Sunday, the Australian Open issued a statement. “Tennis Australia respects the decision of the federal court,” it read. “As per grand slam rules the No 1 position in the draw has been filled by a lucky loser. The updated schedule for Monday 17 January can be viewed at ausopen.com. We look forward to a competitive and exciting Australian Open 2022 and wish all players the best of luck.”
It took tournament organisers 134 minutes to tweet these 58 words of nothingness – the antithesis of the past week’s drama.