Tiley rules out strict quarantine for players ahead of Australian Open
Tennis Australia has ruled out a strict fortnightly quarantine for players and says community vaccination rates will be crucial in determining whether the January Australian Open goes ahead.
Amid fears the Australian Open could follow the Melbourne Formula 1 Grand Prix and MotoGP due to coronavirus concerns, TA boss Craig Tiley said on Monday he was confident the tournament was The next year would be played out with players in a bubble, but said a compromise between the players and the Victorian government on protocols was necessary.
Novak Djokovic with the Norman Brookes Challenge Cup after winning the Australian Open earlier this year.Credit:PA
The Albert Park run and Phillip Island event were canceled last week due to low vaccination rates in Australia and the federal government’s recent move to cut international arrivals, but tennis officials are desperate to donate to Wimbledon champion Ashleigh Barty the chance to win her home tournament.
“What happened has even strengthened our determination that in January we are going to have an Australian Open in the last two weeks,” Tiley said.
Australian Open tournament director Craig Tiley.Credit:Tennis Australia
“Now the focus is on the Australian Open, it’s the next big world sporting event, it will be the biggest sporting event to kick off the year.
“We want to do it with crowds. We know we can bring the players here. The two weeks of strict and strict quarantine won’t be something we can encourage players to participate in but, at this point, we will all be vaccinated, if we have played our part, the part that we should play in doing the right thing. thing by protecting others in the community.
“We will have five months on the track, we will have found better solutions to handle the spread of the virus and we believe in the two week window through isolation, by playing in a bubble and interacting with each other, we will have a solution that players will accept, one that will protect the safety and health of our community, which from the beginning has been our main goal. “
Tiley said this year’s tournament, with expected losses of over $ 100 million, was a success as players had to test negative before taking a chartered flight to Melbourne. They then had to complete a hard two-week quarantine, with some not even being able to train during that time.