A revamp of the offerings available at the 2024 Hobart International has this year’s tournament tracking towards a new record total attendance.
The event has already broken single day records for the past two days, with 2577 fans rolling through the gates on Wednesday (1106 for the day session and 1471 for the night), and Thursday’s figures (2885 total, 1296 for the day and 1589 for the evening) also setting new marks.
With more sublime weather forecast for Friday’s semifinals and Saturday’s decider – which will feature either two-time champion Elise Mertens or Australian comeback queen Daria Saville – further strong support is expected.
This year’s edition has proven a hit with both patrons and players, with a new designated area for food and beverage and increased VIP experiences via the Tasmanian Club extremely popular with the fans.
Player services have also been remodelled, with feedback overwhelmingly positive.
“It’s been a real record event for us so far, we almost doubled the free family weekend in terms of the number of attendances and we broke the Wednesday combined day-night record and also the night record,” tournament director Darren Sturgess said.
“The event is going really strong… there is something on offer for everyone. Still plenty of kids activities and space to run around, it is well set up for families.
“The premium experiences are going really well, everyone is enjoying their tennis, and ‘Dasha’ is winning so it gives us an Australian to keep following.
“We only missed last year by a whisker, we have got really strong numbers at this stage and the weather is looking great, we are confident to really give that [record total] a nudge.”
Sturgess paid tribute to his events team and the volunteers, who have all played a big part in setting the site up for success.
“There are a few new key team members who have come in bringing great ideas from Australian Open experiences, and strong marketing backgrounds as well.
“We have done things a little differently working with some local agencies and groups this year as well just to really elevate what we are doing.
“We have made sure the players are really well looked after, it is something of an Australian tradition with all our events. They have seen the improvements and the effort we are making and we are going to continue to keep pushing ourselves.
“We believe in our offering and what we do and this tennis event is exceptional in value for money, the quality of tennis we get, the entertainment that is on site.
“We are more focused on what we can do to keep pushing ourselves, the more people that get there, we know they are going to see it, live it, experience it and they will be share it and be our advocates for it.”
Semifinal singles action begins with the Mertens-Saville blockbuster which will start no earlier than 2:30pm, with second see Emma Navarro’s clash with qualifier Yue Yuan to follow.
Tickets for both semifinal day and tomorrow’s final are still available, starting from $45^ and kids go free* with a paying adult during the entire tournament, including finals.
From general admission to premium experiences, visit hobartinternational.com.au for all tournament ticketing options.
Hobart International 2024, proudly supported by the Tasmanian Government through Events Tasmania, will be held at the Domain Tennis Centre from 6-13 January 2024.
^Seats are limited. *Free general admission for children aged 3-14 when accompanied by a paying adult. For terms and conditions please click here.