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Victoria Azarenka has called out the Australian Open’s “confusing” sustainability policy, likening it to “smoke and mirrors” tactics.
Tennis Australia signed a partnership with a local environmental start-up Samsara in January 2022, with the latter to collect an estimated 5000 used plastic water bottles and recycle at their lab in Canberra.
“We are committed to minimising our environmental impact through a diverse range of sustainability programs,” Tennis Australia said in a statement at the time.
“As a formal investor in Samsara we have a genuine stake in their future success.”
The investment in Samsara was one of several sustainability measures taken by Tennis Australia, including an emissions reduction plan, reducing overall landfill and the creation of a dedicated recycling stream to manage 60,000 tennis ball tubes.
However, Azarenka does not feel the Australian Open has followed through on their environmental pledges.
“We have water bottles that are recyclable, but then we have plastic everywhere around. What are we actually doing?” Azarenka said after her first round win over Camila Giorgi on Tuesday.
“It’s like one step we’re trying to take to absolutely sustainability and et cetera, but you’re selling plastic all over the stadium.
“And those big bottles, I don’t know how much I have to drink. So to me it’s confusing.
“I want to make sure that we do something that is important. But like this, it looks like – what’s that sentence – smoke and mirrors? You can say that?
“I don’t like that. If we’re going to do something important as try to be sustainable, okay, let’s actually do that.
“But if you look at all the things around, we have chocolate individual wrappers all over the stadium. What are we doing?”
Azarenka, a two-time Aus Open champion, beat Italian Camila Giorgi in the first round in three sets and plays her second-round match on Thursday.
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