Inside Melbourne’s ‘no rules’ tournament which attracts some of tennis’ biggest stars

The Classic is a unique event of the Australian tennis summer as the only exhibition, and the only one not hosted by Tennis Australia, which effectively competes for players within its “Opening Week”.

The Kooyong Lawn Tennis Club still hosts the event, which was first held in 1988 after the Australian Open moved to Melbourne Park, but board members decided in mid-2024 that they would no longer be operationally involved.

That led to the Classic being discontinued last year, with the event now owned by Cal Board’s JJA Sports, which also had a two-year COVID-related hiatus in 2021-22.

“This tournament has died twice,” Johnston said.

“If he was running out of party tricks, you wouldn’t do it, but I still think there’s a way to do it. He’s looking for 256 player matches the week before AO – and they all can’t get it.”

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“Coming back from a year off hasn’t hurt us because the players have missed it. There’s a lot going on at Melbourne Park but Kooyong is still a unique proposition.”

Johnston again drew star power. Players in action include Alexander Zverev, Nick Kyrgios, Alexander Bublik, Matteo Berrettini, Flavio Cobolli, Frances Tiafoe, Karen Chacanov, Denis Shapovalov, Donna Vekic, Marin Cilic and Learner Tien.

The Italian Lorenzo Musetti, who reached the top five of the rankings for the first time this week, was also supposed to play, but withdrew due to injury.

There are players who want to compete once, others twice, and some nominees are available on specific days, so it’s a juggling act for Johnston, especially in cases like Musetti’s where a player withdraws mid-event.

Classic also favors Asian talent for broadcasting reasons. This year, the Chinese Zhang Zhizhen and Bu Yunchaokete are playing.

“I like playing here,” Zhang said. “People are always nice here, even though I’ve played against the Australians twice – Rinky [Hijikata] and Nick [Kyrgios].”

The Kooyong Classic is broadcast in 30 countries, with commentators such as Pat Cash and McNamee, so the pressure is on Johnston to field a strong field. He locked down three-time Grand Slam finalist Zverev only last week.

Zverev fended off Johnston’s foreplay a few months ago but was looking for more match practice after his country failed to progress to the United Cup knockout stages.

“The business model is very reliable in television,” Johnston said, “so it’s important that we try to have the best field possible.”

That said, Johnston and his team are making sure fans on site are well served.

Kyrgios swarmed the basketball ring to shoot hoops after his win over Zhang on Tuesday, while the reaction from the crowd, especially among children, reached a fever pitch as the Australian star and other players entered the tunnel to sign autographs.

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“I remember playing here six years ago and I loved the atmosphere of being here in Melbourne,” Berrettini said.

“I decided to give myself a few more weeks to prepare [this pre-season]so playing this event is great for players who play real matches. It’s perfect.”

The Classic also leans against the grassy areas of Kooyong as a backdrop to the social space where punters can have a drink and chat.

“It’s still about getting the right players, but now it’s more of an event where you can spend the day playing tennis, watching and then going out to the bars,” Johnston said.

“Seeing everything come to fruition and people having a great time is really nice.”

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