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<\/p>\nTennis, he has said, appealed because it was mentally unforgiving. A sport that demands total concentration.<\/p>\n
\u201cI find, for my mental health, it\u2019s a pretty useful use of my time,\u201d he once explained.<\/p>\n
The attachment has travelled with Albanese through every phase of parliamentary life.<\/p>\n
From around 2016 to 2021, when parliament was sitting, Albanese would turn up early every Thursday morning at Parliament House for a social hit with colleagues.<\/p>\n
Canberra winters are often sub-zero, but a core group of four tennis-loving pollies would reliably show up. Among them was Liberal John Alexander \u2013 known as \u201cJA\u201d \u2013 a former world No. 8 and Davis Cup player who was the most desired doubles partner among MPs.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
John \u201cJA\u201d Alexander was a LIberal MP and reached a career-high ranking of No.8 in the world.Credit: Jessica Hromas<\/p>\n
Nationals MP Kevin Hogan, a solid club player with an incredible lob, and Labor\u2019s Peter Khalil, who once competed as a junior at the Australian Open and briefly toured on the European circuit, rounded out the foursome.<\/p>\n
Politics, those mornings, was largely set aside. Political hierarchies that dominate inside the walls of parliament were flattened on court. It was only JA who came with a higher status.<\/p>\n
Other MPs drifted in and out of these parliamentary hits, including former treasurer Josh Frydenberg, Nationals MP Darren Chester and Labor\u2019s Luke Gosling and Meryl Swanson.<\/p>\n
As much as it infuriated Albanese, Hogan and JA often claimed victory. Hogan and Alexander both recall those early matches where Albanese and Khalil were so eager to beat their coalition opponents that the Labor men made repeated unforced errors.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe harder they tried, the more errors they made,\u201d Alexander said. \u201cBut it was great fun. We made a lot of good friends.\u201d<\/p>\n
In August 2018, during a tumultuous and chaotic week in Canberra that ended with Malcolm Turnbull being rolled as prime minister, a dejected Alexander phoned Albanese and offered him a tennis lesson.<\/p>\n
For two hours the pair practised on the courts at Parliament House while his colleagues worked the phones and did the numbers inside.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe was a great student and picked things up quickly and tried really hard,\u201d Alexander told this masthead.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe did everything from ground strokes to serving and volleying.\u201d<\/p>\n
On Alexander\u2019s retirement, Albanese would later thank JA in parliament for teaching him \u201cto do a kick second serve\u201d.<\/p>\n
Alexander also recalls teaming up with Albanese for doubles.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe were playing together, and he was a bit too close to the net. The ball went flying over his head and he looked at me to get it. I am more than 10 years older than him, and I\u2019ve got a bad hip. Men, when they come to the net, need to be responsible for their own lobs. He got that,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Khalil, who is the assistant minister for defence and who once beat Mark Philippoussis as a teenager, described Albanese as a \u201cvery strong\u201d club player.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe has a strong forehand and a decent volley,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe also has a bit of power, but his best attribute is his mental toughness.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Others echo this assessment. Despite a few technical quirks \u2013 including a questionable grip \u2013 Albanese\u2019s opponents say he fights for every shot. They also agree that he refuses to concede points cheaply, with contestable points even attracting their own name \u2013 \u201cAlbo calls\u201d.<\/p>\n
That competitive edge was visible early. According to his biography, Albanese \u2013 Telling it Straight, by Karen Middleton, published in 2016, at school Albanese challenged a decision to award a tennis title to his best friend after rain washed out the final.<\/p>\n
His attachment to tennis didn\u2019t fade with high office. In May 2022, after his first full week as prime minister, Albanese marked the moment not with ceremony but with routine, turning up at his local tennis club to play doubles in the Sydney Badge competition.<\/p>\n
Marrickville won six sets to two.<\/p>\n
Tennis, he said, offered an escape. \u201cYou hit the ball over the net and between the lines, you can\u2019t think about other things like what\u2019s going on in the world or climate change, or the decision-making processes that you\u2019ve got to do,\u201d he once said.<\/p>\n
Tennis, for Albanese, has also been used to build relationships. Over the years, MPs and other notable Australian figures have been invited for a hit, including at his Canberra home, The Lodge.<\/p>\n
Albanese has joked that becoming prime minister was the only way he would ever live in a house with a tennis court.<\/p>\n
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<\/p>\n
Anthony Albanese at the Australian Open tennis semi-final in 2023.Credit: Getty Images<\/p>\n
Those who have been lucky enough to receive such an invitation are hesitant to reveal too many details, but say it offered them invaluable access to have a hit and a drink with a relaxed prime minister.<\/p>\n
As his authority in Canberra grew, so too did the opportunities that came with the game.<\/p>\n
The Sydneysider has also been a regular presence at the Australian Open in Melbourne, which, in January, functions as a soft-power hub where politics, corporate Australia and lobbying converge under the guise of a grand slam.<\/p>\n
Parliamentary records show multiple taxpayer-funded trips linked to the tennis, involving flights, allowances and car costs \u2013 travel he has consistently defended as legitimate and within the rules.<\/p>\n
His explanation has been consistent: the tennis was never the sole purpose of the trip. As with many major sporting events, the lines are not always sharply drawn.<\/p>\n
What distinguishes his case is that the interest, itself, is long-standing. Unlike the performative sporting appearances that occasionally mark political life, Albanese\u2019s attachment to tennis pre-dates his political power.<\/p>\n