May 13, 2020, 11:20

▲ In 1988, the then-president of Nassau (left) with Brian Tobin, President of the Australian Tennis Association. On the right is Andrew from Nassau’s Australian agency.

While Mats Wilander and Steffi Graf took the final spotlight at the 1988 Australian Open, there was a quiet third victor behind the scenes.

After the world’s top male and female players battled it out for a total prize pool of $1.9 million, and the roaring crowd had left the National Tennis Centre, one figure remained on Centre Court?filled with emotion.

That winner was Nassau, a Korean-made tennis ball making its Grand Slam debut at the young age of 16, having first launched in September 1973.

In 1988, Nassau signed a three-year contract with Tennis Australia to supply the official match balls for the Australian Open.

The contract stipulated a payment of $100,000 for the first year and $100,000 per year for the subsequent two years (1989 and 1990).

Additionally, the Olympic Committee of the International Tennis Federation (ITF), which convened in Melbourne, agreed that Nassau balls posed no issues in being used as Olympic match balls.

▲ Advertisement for Nassau tennis balls featured in the Australian Open tournament pamphlet.

Nassau had now earned recognition as a global brand.

Kim Moon-il, then Chairman of the Referee Committee who served as an umpire at the Australian Open, stated:

“It is a proud moment for the Korean tennis industry to see a Korean-made ball used successfully at a Grand Slam.

Not long ago, we were still importing foreign-made balls, so this feels incredibly emotional.

With slight improvements in size and performance, Nassau could become the world’s best tennis ball.”

● Ken Farrah, Chief Supervisor of MIPTC (Melbourne International Pro Tennis Committee):

“There were no issues at all with the match progression due to the balls.

With brands like Slazenger and Wilson, balls sometimes burst during play, leading to player frustration or even being thrown off-court.

So far, not a single Nassau ball has burst during matches.”