Serena and Venus Williams ran up a $33,000 hotel bill in Auckland while competing in the ASB Classic earlier month and Auckland tennis organisers had to foot the bill.
The bill, settled by Tennis Auckland who foots accommodation for all players, was additional to the substantial appearance fees paid to both players.
The Williams sisters both struggled on the court with early round exits, but enjoyed the best of Auckland in their downtime, booking out five luxury suites and their own function room at the Sky City Grand Hotel for their team of six.
ASB Classic tournament director Karl Budge told Fairfax Media it was part of the deal with hosting superstar global athletes.
"It sounds like a big bill to those reading off the cuff but when you factor in what we did it's a pretty normal transaction for a group of eight people that were there for some up to a week and a half," Budge told Fairfax.
"Like all the players we're contractually obliged to pick up the hotel charges. We certainly don't have any issues. I haven't had any conversations with their team nor will I."
The sisters last night battled it out in the final of the Australian Open, with Serena winning 6-4 6-4 and clinching her record-breaking 23rd grand-slam title.
