In shock news developing, Brisbane could lose the right to host the 2032 Olympic and Paralympic tennis tournaments, with Melbourne posed as a potential alternative.
It all comes after the Queensland Government has yet to approve a plan to develop the Queensland Tennis Centre, which hosts the Brisbane International.
The upgrade would require an A$113 million investment, which is deemed necessary to host tennis matches for one of the world's biggest events.
The state government recently received its 100-day Olympic review to work through the appropriate procedures to ensure infrastructure timelines are met.
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According to News Corp, Olympic officials have held private talks about the possibility of moving the tennis to Melbourne, home of the Australian Open at Melbourne Park. That will only happen if Brisbane fails to upgrade its tennis facility.
It is expected that The Queensland Government will reveal the next steps on March 25 after analysing the 100-day review.
Early last year, Tennis Queensland requested extra courts at the Queensland Tennis Centre to host a 44 per cent increase in matches in time for the 2032 Games.
Brisbane Times senior reporter Tony Moore spoke to host Brett Phillips in April last year on 'The First Serve Live', detailing the situation around "the new norm" when it comes to governments and Olympic authorities being "reluctant to upgrade" new stadiums.
"Tennis Queensland made an enquiry into Queensland's readiness for the Olympics, and they made a very clear point - [they] need to have extra courts," Moore said.
"The Queensland Government has said it has no plans to upgrade Pat Rafter Arena, but the demand is there."
The Queensland Tennis Centre has become popular for Australia's respective Davis Cup and Billie Jean King Cup sides. The Aussie women, captained by Samantha Stosur, will commence qualifying at Pat Rafter Arena next month for the November finals.
Pat Rafter Arena currently holds a seating capacity of 5,500, with outside courts also in desperate need of an overhaul.
The International Tennis Federation (ITF) is willing to soften the financial burden for Queensland by accepting a tweaked model, which includes a 3,000 seat venue and additional outside courts to accompany Pat Rafter Arena.
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