The Australian Open will expand its court-side hospitality in 2025, and patrons will now be served cocktails while watching top players on Melbourne Park’s headline practice courts.

The court-side bar introduced this year proved polarising and some players complained of the distraction of the rowdy crowd, but the formula has been expanded at the tournament starting on 6 January.

There will be a new zone dubbed “the village” centred around the practice courts wedged between John Cain Arena and Kia Arena.

Tennis Australia chief executive Craig Tiley said patrons can settle in and watch top players practise. “You’ll be able to go and have some drinks, enjoy a cocktail, get something to eat, and watch on court 16 and 17.”

The courts have traditionally allowed patrons with ground passes a glimpse at big names such as Novak Djokovic without having a ticket to the major arenas, and practice session times are advertised like they would be for a match.

But management of the arena has often been haphazard. The stand with capacity of 400 has often filled up quickly, and an adjacent balcony can be several fans deep.

Although players had mixed opinions of the ‘party court’ last year, Tiley said he is committed to improving the tournament’s fan experience, and the court-side bar would return with “a nice big look”.

“The idea about the court-side bar was about bringing fans closer to the action, and let them sit down, get something to eat and get something to drink in a way where they can really enjoy the tennis,” Tiley said.

Another new edition to the 2025 tournament is an area known as “top court”, which will take over Birrarung Marr close to Flinders St Station and Federation Square.

The area has previously been used as a live site with screens, but Tiley said it would transform into an “interactive entertainment precinct” primarily targeted at younger fans. “There’s going to be a lot of gaming, a lot of virtual reality, a lot of tech opportunities, e-sports, being able to play in different formats of the game, and have some experiences of a fusion between food and fashion.”

The Melbourne and Olympic Parks precinct completed redevelopment works last year that cost close to $1b, and work is now commencing on a new masterplan for the area.

“We’ll continue to evolve the precinct, and together with the Victorian government come up with the ideas that we need to do, but we never – we should never – take for granted the fact that we have a really good precinct,” Tiley said.

One of the tournament’s key on-court attractions is set to be Nick Kyrgios. The 29-year-old has missed most of the past two years with knee and wrist injuries.

Tiley said he believes Kyrgios will play. “He’s out there practising, playing. [I’ve] been in touch with his team over the last couple days, and he’s fully expecting to play, and we expect to see Nick on the court playing.”

The Australian tennis season formally begins with the United Cup in Sydney and Perth starting on 27 December 2024.