Australian Open’s Melbourne Arena To Be Renamed John Cain Arena

Australian Open’s second-largest stadium, the Melbourne Arena is being renamed the John Cain Arena in memory of Victoria’s late Premier John Cain. Cain played an instrumental role in keeping the Australian Open in Melbourne.

The multipurpose arena with a capacity of 10,300-capacity has gone through many name changes over the years.  The arena opened in 2000 as the Vodafone Arena. In 2008, it became the Hisense Arena and in 2018, the arena was renamed the Melbourne Arena to promote the Melbourne brand to international visitors.

John Cain served as Victoria’s Premier from 1982 to 1990 and played an important role in the tournament’s relocation from Melbourne’s Kooyong Lawn Tennis Club to the Melbourne Park complex in 1988.

Australian Open’s third-biggest stadium is the Margaret Court Arena, named after one of Australia’s greatest tennis players. Court won 24 grand slam singles titles and 64 total majors, including doubles and mixed doubles.

The stadium’s name has attracted a lot of controversy in recent years. Margaret Court has openly expressed her anti-gay views over the years. Many former and current players have called for the Margaret Court Arena to be renamed but so far such calls have had no impact.

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Top Five Management Drops Sofia Kenin

Top Five Management has dropped Sofia Kenin due to “difficulty with the athlete’s environment”. 2020 was a breakout year for Kenin who won her maiden grand slam title at the Australian Open and reached the finals at the French Open. 

The awkwardly worded announcement suggests there was a conflict between the player and the team at Top Five.  No details were provided on the source of conflict.

It is possible that Kenin and Top Five could not agree on the financial cut that the agency gets from her deals. Other reasons could include parents and other members of Kenin’s team interfering with the affairs of her management agency.

2020 was a difficult year for tennis. Tournaments reduced prize money by up to 50% to make up for not being able to have fans in the stadium. Sponsors were also faced with difficult financial conditions in their business.

Despite a big year, Kenin had difficulty attracting high profile sponsors. Fellow American player Amanda Anisimova signed a monster deal with Nike, though her on-court results have been sub-par compared to Kenin’s.

It is rare for an agency to drop a young player who has a long runway. Given her high profile in tennis, another management agency will certainly pick up Kenin.

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