Why do tennis stars pick us over Aussie?

Caroline Wozniacki talks with Venus Williams during a player party on day 1 of Huajin Securities WTA Elite Trophy Zhuhai at Sheraton Zhuhai Hotel in November. Photo / Getty

Helicopters, private beaches, Champagne on tap and water shipped in from the Alps are are just some of the high-society secrets behind Auckland's world tennis lure.

Every year Auckland's ASB Classic serves up a cheeky low-ball to the millionaire men and women of world tennis -- long-haul flights to get here, up to four times less prize money than the same week in Brisbane and Sydney, smaller appearance fees, and just to really cap it off, fewer world ranking points as well.

The field for next year's men's ASB Classic is regarded as the strongest yet, with nine of the world's top 30 signed on. And the women's ASB Classic field also features some of the tennis' biggest names.

So why do the likes of Venus Williams, Caroline Wozniacki, Ana Ivanovic, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and John Isner pick Auckland over Australia?

"We obviously don't have the biggest prize budget, we're competitive, but we have to be smart too -- and there is the flashier stuff, it's the sexier stuff that people look at," tournament director Karl Budge said.

"Last year we put Caroline Wozniacki on a seaplane over to Great Barrier Island and then a helicopter over to Waiheke Island for an oyster dinner.

"We've flown Ana Ivanovic to a private beaches and vineyards while her father is choppered around the country playing golf.

"Yes, that stuff does happen and we do a lot of it. Anything they want to do in Auckland, or New Zealand for that matter.

"We're not the Porsche Grand Prix in Germany where top 10 players get a free supercar just for turning up. We're not Dubai or Doha where they just purpose-build a seven-star hotel. The money in this sport is ludicrous and while we don't have it, what we do have is the ability to give players a special, bespoke experience."

To help seal the deal Budge's team also offers to accommodate the massive entourages which pass thorough the two weeks of the event. And while some players will just bring one family member for a holiday and VIP seats to the tournament, others have an entire team tagging along.

"We do a lot of that stuff and it's all down to the player. Venus tends to just travel with her coach, despite being one of the most successful players of all time she's probably got the smallest entourage of anyone," Budge said.

"Meanwhile, this year Ana will be bringing her mum and dad, her coach, her hitting partner, her trainer and two family friends. Her old man's a huge golfer, he'll be playing most days with former All Black Joe Stanley while her mum will be going to spas.

"They're the ones who get to enjoy some of the good stuff -- and they're the ones who are constantly in a player's ear about which tournaments are good.

"A lot of people just enjoy sitting in the players' box drinking Champagne, so each year when the conversation comes with a player's agent about how much we're going to pay them, you're already at a good starting point."

Inevitably, Budge admits, there have also been some diva-ish demands.

"One player will only drink Evian mineral water. They insist on it, they refuse to drink any other water. So, we have to make sure there's an unlimited supply available for them at all times," he said.

"Another player got sick during the tournament once and wanted some chicken soup. We ended up ferrying three types of chicken soup to their hotel and still none of them were right."