Tennis Australia drops fossil fuel producer Santos as sponsor

In what is being widely hailed as a welcome move, Tennis Australia, the sport’s apex governing body in Australia, appears to have dropped fossil fuel producer Santos as a sponsor. The news comes just one year into a multi-year partnership after widespread criticism in a campaign targeting the sponsorship as an example of “sportswashing”.

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Tennis Australia's Santos sponsorship evoked strong reactions and a sense of irony

Originally announced in February 2021 as the Official Natural Gas Partner for the Australian Open and the ATP Cup family, the association would have seemed to make little sense to many. After all, Australia was still relatively fresh off the first-hand experience of climate change seen via the ravaging bushfires of 2020 which killed over 25 people and destroyed at least 10 million hectares (100,000 sq km) of land, as per BBC.

While Australia is no stranger to bushfires, the 2020 incident had even inspired a widely-hailed "Rally for Relief" fundraising event featuring tennis stars Serena Williams, Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, Nick Kyrgios, Naomi Osaka, and many more. In a heart-warming instance of sport’s ability to do good and raise awareness about important issues, the event also paid tribute to Australia’s firefighters.

Given this touching gesture and past history at the Australian Open, fans and industry bodies alike could be forgiven for considering the February 2021 announcement of Santos' partnership with Tennis Australia as a smack in the face of their hopes of seeing their favorite sports and events continue to raise public awareness about important societal issues.

The sentiment was echoed at the time of the announcement by Comms Declare, an industry body representing hundreds of workers in advertising, media, PR, and marketing.

Belinda Noble, Comms Declare co-founder, had said:

“This is an irresponsible move by a sport that is already being disrupted by climate change. Scientists have warned the Australian Open should be moved to cooler months because the summer peak is becoming dangerously hot for athletes.

On Santos' use of the sport's platform for its sponsorship, she had remarked:

“Fossil fuel companies use sports sponsorships as a platform to gain social acceptance and perpetuate untruths about their businesses being clean and good for the environment. The truth is, we have to phase out gas if we are to have a climate that allows sports like tennis to be played safely in the future”.

The partnership with Santos made even less sense given that Tennis Australia has been a signatory to the UN Sports for Climate Action framework since 2019. This framework seeks to use the soft power of sport to encourage meaningful action on the climate crisis.

Of course, tennis, and even the Australian Open itself, is unfortunately no stranger to how climate change is already affecting sport. The 2014 Australian Open saw play get stopped as 1,000 spectators were treated for heat exhaustion after temperatures rose above 40C. Even more recently, the qualifying rounds of the 2020 Australian Open were affected by smoke in Melbourne as the city’s air had been rated as “very poor”. These are considered prime examples of how climate change affects sport.

The 2021 Santos partnership had earlier faced strong backlash from the community, with 7,600 people signing a petition addressed to Australian Open chief executive Craig Tiley as part of a social media campaign.

Lucy Manne, the chief executive of 350 Australia, which coordinated the campaign, welcomed the development and said:

"Tennis Australia should be congratulated for ending their association with Santos. It’s really important we start to see our biggest, most-loved sporting events move away from partnerships like those with Santos."

On the non-response from Tennis Australia, she added:

“Tennis Australia hasn’t told us why this has occurred and they may not, but regardless, this is a huge public benefit in terms of not having a big fossil fuel company’s brand splashed all over a major event. There was a big effort to make it unacceptable for cigarette companies to sponsor events… now it’s the time to do the same for fossil fuel companies.”

While Santos may no longer be associated with Tennis Australia, it is still the title sponsor of the Tour Down Under cycling event on the UCI World Tour. Reflecting on the chance for sporting events to make their sponsorships count for the greater good, Manne said:

“There’s a big opportunity for sports like those overseen by Tennis Australia and the Tour Down Under to educate the public about what the effects of climate change look like. And it’s easier to do that without fossil fuel sponsorship.”

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Santos's branding had been prominent during the Australian Open 2021

Santos’ branding had been widely featured during the Australian Open 2021 and in an advertisement promoting jobs provided by the gas industry during broadcasts.

Furthermore, Santos had even ran a “fuelled by Santos” campaign where the Santos logo appeared on the score count during an epic rallies video posted by the Australian Open on Facebook.

While any specifics relating to the termination of the agreement are unclear as both parties are presently unwilling to comment on the matter, the decision to part ways was reportedly taken in November 2021 itself, as per The Guardian.

The Australian Open 2022 is currently underway at Melbourne Park until January 30, 2022.