‘How can you call the score for a rigged match?’: Albanese tennis feud escalates with Sydney entrepreneur

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and anti-tax campaigner Joseph Daoud have accused each other of telling porkies over the score of their charity tennis match.

Mr Albanese claimed he defeated Mr Daoud in straight sets, 6-0, 6-0, 6-0, while Mr Daoud has disputed the Prime Minister’s version of events.

Mr Daoud told News24.com.au that while the Prime Minister won the opening set 6-0, the second set was locked at 2-2 before Mr Albanese took a 15-minute break.

According to Mr Daoud, the Prime Minister then returned to the court to win the match, but he denied claims the PM won every game.

Mr Albanese then doubled down on his version of events, maintaining the triple bagel scoreline was accurate.

“The match went pretty well. It was very successful,” Mr Albanese told the ABC on Wednesday.

Asked to clarify the score, the Prime Minister said: “It was for charity, that’s the main thing… 6-0, 6-0, 6-0.”

“It was what it was, but for me, the main point was that it was raising funds for charity,” Mr Albanese said.

He also took a dig at Mr Daoud – who had paid for skywriting “Stop the Tax” in Canberra – saying the money would have been better spent on charity.

Mr Daoud, however, has publicly questioned how the Prime Minister arrived at that score.

“Mate, how can you call the score for a rigged match? That’s all I want to say,” he told News24.com.au on Tuesday evening.

Mr Daoud also questioned some of the calls made during the match, accusing Mr Albanese of awarding himself a point after a double fault.

“I’m not making any allegations. I’m just very, very confused as to how somebody could hit the net and then I turn around to the umpire and go, ‘was that in or out?’” he said.

The businessman also suggested the Prime Minister took a 15-minute break in the middle of the match, which Mr Albanese disputed, saying it was “about two minutes”.

Mr Daoud, the founder of mortgage broker It’s Simple Finance, paid $16,500 at the Midwinter Ball auction in August for the chance to play the Prime Minister.  

The match was billed as a charity event but for Mr Daoud, it also became an opportunity to take his anti-tax campaign directly to Mr Albanese.  

He leads the “Stop the Ambition Tax” campaign, which argues Labor’s CGT changes will hit small business owners and young investors.  

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