Channel 9's decision to showcase Nick Kyrgios and Thanasi Kokkinakis ahead of Destanee Aiava's second-round singles match has come under scrutiny.
Although the 'Special K's' were doubtful to feature on John Cain Arena after Kokkinakis' comments after his defeat to Jack Draper, the pair didn't want to disappoint the crowd.
However, the 2022 Australian Open doubles champions displayed nowhere near their best tennis, retiring midway through the second set to hand compatriots Aleksandar Vukic and James Duckworth the win.
During the same time, Aiava was battling it out on KIA Arena against 10th-seed Danielle Collins, eventually going down in three sets as her fairytale ended.
Fans watching on their television screens at home noticed that Aiava's maiden second-round match at a Grand Slam wasn't prioritised ahead of Kyrgios and Kokkinakis, who clearly weren't 100 per cent fit.
One comment on X in particular caused quite the debate.
In the comments section, other people also expressed their disappointment.
One fan said: "And to the surprise of no one k & k pulled the pin mid match, so they could have shown another match instead."
"Both were on free to air channels 91/92 but it was disrespectful to switch the channels part way through the match," another person wrote.
But despite some outrage, there were also those who sat on the other side of the fence.
"Not everything is 'to promote women's sport'. People queued for over an hour to get into JCA for the doubles. It was of interest to the masses," one person argued.
Another X user wrote: "Channel 9s job is to put the most popular product to air in prime time. That's what Tennis Australia would want them to do - get maximum viewers. It's what their viewers would generally expect too."
It raises a genuine discussion around drawing a balance between financial benefit and broadcasting the most important matches on free-to-air.
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