The Australian Open, which marks the beginning of the big tennis season, is annually in the focus of media attention: journalists dissect each episode of the competition in search of vivid stories. Last year, the leitmotif of the tournament was the Novak Djokovic ban scandal, and this year it was an unexpected story around the free use of ballboy child labor.

The prize fund of the Australian championship is huge, but the children will not get a penny from there. Amazing greed!

Tribute to tradition

Tennis, like any popular sport, has long used modern technology to achieve greater objectivity in game episodes. Video replay systems and automatic detection of outs are already familiar tools that are used by the organizers of tennis tournaments.

The Australian Open is no exception. Electronics have replaced linesmen, but there is no way to completely get away from the help of people, so ballboys still play an important role.

Photo: © REUTERS / Carl Recine

Nearly 2,500 children each year apply to the Ballkids program for a coveted spot on the court where they can touch great players and be inspired by their accomplishments. Approximately every fifth child gets a chance, but for such an opportunity one has to experience certain inconveniences.

At a minimum, it is about neglect by athletes, the risk of accidentally getting hit in the head with a ball and working in extreme weather conditions. In Australia, for example, the heat is replaced by showers throughout the two weeks of the tournament, so the ballboys have a hard time.

However, despite this, being a ballboy is an honor, and there is a certain tribute to the traditions of tennis in this. So for the time being, boys and girls in stylish uniforms do not disappear from the courts of the largest tournaments.

Is this really happening in the 21st century?

Hired for the duration of the competition, young tennis players work not only during the game, but also are assistants in case of any force majeure. Elena Rybakina, who became the first finalist this year, was forced to interrupt her match with namesake Ostapenko at the quarterfinal stage due to heavy rain. The elements literally washed away Rod Laver’s court, so the organizers had to call in… ballboys to quickly fix the problems.

Photo: © REUTERS/Jaimi Joy

Photos of a dozen children crawling on their knees drying the floor with towels have gone around the world. However, many fans were extremely surprised by such a conservative way of drying the court and openly criticized the Australian Open on social networks:

“So you’re telling me we have fully automated phone calls and THIS IS STILL the best way to dry the tennis courts?”

“If you’re into sports technology or innovation, there’s probably a better and more efficient way to dry out a tennis court. I mean, for 2023, this is ridiculous.

Free labor

True, one more fact came to light, much more unpleasant for the image of the tournament. It turned out that in Australia, ballboys do not receive a penny for their work, which goes against the practice of Grand Slams. For comparison, at the US Open, children are paid $ 15 per hour of work, at Wimbledon – $ 351 per week.

Are we in a Dickens novel? What’s wrong? Pay the kids. I’m just shocked that they don’t get paid. It devalues ​​them disgustingly,” said Australian journalist Justin Smith.

It is difficult to disagree with him, especially if we recall the precedent at the Kokkinakis vs. Murray match, which lasted five and a half hours and ended in the morning. Then even Sir Andy could not stand it and was indignant at the situation in which a minor child had to come home after work the next day. What should his parents think?

Photo: © REUTERS / Hannah McKay

To use child labor to the fullest and not pay a cent for it, with a prize fund of 76.5 million Australian dollars, or more than 3.7 billion rubles, is real hypocrisy. But, seeing the great demand for such work, the management of the Australian Open continued to save. In the next season, this will most likely not work.