Tom Elliott says as long as Australia Day takes places on January 26, the Australian Open must acknowledge it as the country’s national day.

In recent years Tennis Australia has moved away from marking the day with any celebrations on-site, but this year has both a dedicated First Nations and Pride day.

“If you’re going to call yourself the Australian Open and it happens that our national day takes place during the tournament, you have to acknowledge Australia Day,” Tom said on 3AW Mornings.

Click PLAY to hear Tom’s full comments on 3AW Mornings 

“Maybe the date will change down the track, but right now it’s January 26.”

University of Melbourne Associate Professor Dr. Lauren Rosewarne said Tennis Australia – like any other business – was entitled to make “open capitalism” decisions to celebrate and promote whatever they like.

“This is the consequence of open capitalism – businesses make decisions that they see are in their own best interests,” she told 3AW.

Click PLAY to hear more of Dr Lauren Rosewarne’s chat with Tom Elliott 

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