Tennis icon Mark Philippoussis has called for ball kids to be paid at the Australian Open. This year’s tournament has seen multiple incidents of ballkids being affected by the Melbourne heat, prompting calls for the volunteers to be paid for their efforts.

When discussing the possibility of ballkids being paid, Philippoussis said: “Why not? Give them some pocket money.

“It’s a great opportunity for these kids to get out there and enjoy the atmosphere, to walk around, to watch some matches. But I know that this tournament spends a lot of money to make sure everyone’s happy.”

Wimbledon pays ballkids around £200 for their efforts during the two-week summer tournament. Meanwhile, the Australian Open will pay out a total £5.7million in prize money during the tournament, marking a 16 per cent increase from last year. However, Tennis Australia CEO Craig Tiley has defended ballkids being unpaid.

“It’s not a simple answer as yes or no, because there’s a lot of labour-related challenges that you’ve got to consider in it,” Tiley said. “But the ballkids get paid in lieu of cash in other ways, through tickets and transport and covering costs of food and all those things and gifting.”

Former Australian tennis star Alicia Molik has also argued in favour of ballkids remaining unpaid. The 45-year-old, who reached world No.8 in singles and won two Grand Slam doubles titles, believes the experience is still worthwhile, despite working for free.

“I just think it’s a great opportunity for the kids, irrespective,” she said. “It’s a great thing to have on your CV, isn’t it? The fact that you’ve worked at the Australian Open.”

The tournament is set to conclude this weekend. The women’s singles final will be contested on Saturday, with the men’s showdown taking place on Sunday.