Following mounting speculation it has been confirmed by the ATP that the Australian Open will be delayed by three weeks and start on February 8th.
The governing body of men’s tennis is the first to officially confirm the change after publishing their revamped schedule for the start of 2021. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic various tournaments have been either delayed or suspended. As for the Australian Open, they have had to delay their start date because government officials require players to quarantine for 15 days upon arrival.
Under the new plans the men’s qualifying tournament for the Grand Slam will be held in Doha between January 10-13. Those who qualify will then be able to travel to Australia for their quarantine via transport that will be provided by the national federation. Meanwhile, the women’s equivalent will take place in Dubai.
“The reconfigured calendar for the start of the 2021 season represents a huge collaborative effort across tennis, under challenging circumstances. Together with the support of our tournament and player members, partners, and Tennis Australia, we have been able to adapt and create an exciting start to the season. Health and safety will continue to be paramount as we navigate the challenges ahead, and I want to thank everyone involved for their commitment to finding solutions to launch our 2021 season.” ATP chairman Andrea Gaudenzi said in a statement.
The ATP Tour will start again during the week commencing January 5th with two 250 tournaments. Delray Reach will be taking place a month earlier than usual and Turkey will hold a new tournament in Antalya with a one-year license. After those events there will be a two-week pause due to the Australian quarantine.
Melbourne will then become the centre of professional tennis with plans to host three ATP events prior to the Australian Open. One of those include the ATP Cup which will feature only 12 teams and take place over just five days.
Among the tournaments which have been forced to be cancelled due to the pandemic are New York and Auckland. The ATP says Pune is also unable to hold its tournament in February but didn’t provide a reason as to why. Meanwhile, the Rio Open is looking into the possibility of holding their event later in the year.
At present, the ATP calendar only goes up until the conclusion of the Australian Open. Details about weeks 8-13 will be revealed at another stage. At present no changes have been made to tournaments taking place from week 14 onwards but that is subject to change.
The WTA is yet to publish their schedule for the new season.
The calendar
| Dates | Location | Tournament |
| 5-13 Jan. | Delray Beach | Delray Beach Open by VITACOST.com |
| 5-13 Jan. | Antalya | Antalya Open |
| 10-13 Jan. | Doha | Australian Open Qualifying |
| 31 Jan. – 6 Feb | Melbourne | Melbourne 1 (Adelaide Relocation) |
| 31 Jan – 6 Feb | Melbourne | Melbourne 2 |
| 1-5 Feb. | Melbourne | ATP Cup |
| 8-21 Feb. | Melbourne | Australian Open |
