Rain delays play during the match between Naomi Osaka and Julia Grabher during day three of the 2025 ASB Classic. Photo / Getty Images
Rain delays play during the match between Naomi Osaka and Julia Grabher during day three of the 2025 ASB Classic. Photo / Getty Images
Editorial
While the Auckland stadium debate is expected to ramp up this year and a potential decision to be made, another stadium upgrade in the city has been forgotten about.
Of the two proposals between Eden Park 2.1 and Te Tōangaroa, both feature a retractable roof. Which makes sense toprotect concert-goers (Adele and Elton John fans can attest to that) but isn’t a must for sport.
The only time Eden Park probably needed a roof for sport was the 1975 test against Scotland. Known as the Water Polo Test after a deluge of rain flooded the surface. The All Blacks showed remarkable skill in the conditions, winning 24–0 among constant fears a player could drown at the bottom of a ruck.
The stadium that is shouting out for some cover however is the tennis centre at Stanley Street, now dubbed Manuka Doctor Arena. Another ASB Classic women’s week has been affected by strong winds and a few minor rain delays this week.
It means the best players aren’t playing their best tennis, while fans are constantly checking the weather forecasts.
The Herald reported in 2023 all the planning and resource consent was completed by Tennis Auckland for an upgraded grandstand and canopy roof, but they now need the funding to go through with it.
At the time it was expected to be “well north of $20 million” to replace the Robinson Stand, before even thinking about a roof-type structure.
If the council is considering a massive investment in a new major stadium, which who knows when it will host a major event, they should also be looking at helping a venue which has two premier events each year. That’s if private funding doesn’t come to the net.
Imagine an ASB Classic without fear of rain delays or players having to deal with swirling winds coming down Grafton Rd.
The Auckland tournament is competing against Australian cities willing to pay to spruce their venues up. Adelaide’s venue, which hosts the Adelaide International this week, recently went through a $44m development and already has a canopy roof.
A general view of Centre Court at the Adelaide International. Photo / Getty Images
ASB Classic tournament director Nicolas Lamperin, like his predecessors Karl Budge and Graham Pearce, has done an admirable job attracting names like Naomi Osaka, Emma Raducanu and Coco Gauff in recent years but can’t control niggly pre-season injuries, the likes of which saw Raducanu withdraw before her first match, or the weather.
The venue has been upgraded over the years and the players love the setting. The ASB Classic has been a regular winner for best event in the world for its tier at the annual WTA Awards, with the intimate and close surroundings popular with the players. But the conditions haven’t and won’t change.
In 2017, superstar Serena Williams lost in the second round and said: “At least I can get out of these conditions. I would say it’s my least favourite conditions I’ve ever played in. Again my opponent played in the exact same conditions. She was able to adjust better than me. I really abhorred these conditions.”
To her credit, Williams returned to win the event three years later. In 2023, second-round matches were completed indoors, leading to British drawcard Raducanu rolling an ankle and blaming the slick surface. The indoor move also saw the exit of high-ranking American Sloane Stephens.
Rain has caused delays during the women’s tournament this year, while the wind has been yet again a talking point for players.
When American Bernarda Pera was interviewed after her round of 16 win on Wednesday, in windy conditions, she said: “Really tough. I’m not the player that likes these conditions.” Not exactly a great advertisement for the event.
It won’t be cheap and you could argue spending expected millions for an event that only takes place across one month of the year would be short-sighted. But during the rest of the year, the Stadium Court could be used as a concert venue.
If changes aren’t made soon, organisers may find tennis stars running for cover elsewhere.
