“We’ve always prided ourselves on listening to the players, and this year we’ve taken our consultation to a whole new level,” Australian Open Tournament Director Craig Tiley said.

"Our team has spent a lot of time this year talking to players, coaches and their teams about what’s important to them, what they like and what changes they want to see.

“From these discussions, held at tournaments around the world, we’ve come up with some changes we know the players want, including the Serve Clock and Electronic Review on all match courts, making conditions more consistent across the precinct.



“We’ve increased the women’s qualifying draw to 128, in line with the men’s qualifying, removing what was really an historical anomaly, and we’re starting qualifying a day earlier.



“The 25-second Serve Clock will be introduced for all matches – we know there’s a move to speed up play and we’ll continue to work with the players on the best ways to do this.



“Coaching is an issue we’ve all spoken a lot about over the past couple of months, which is good. As a sport, tennis needs to decide the best way forward. We’ll continue the coaching trial during qualifying – for both men and women – as we progress discussions with the many stakeholders involved. The sport needs to have a consistent approach to all issues around coaching.