The 2021 Australian Open will take place three weeks later than planned with players being tested for COVID-19 five times during their self-quarantine period, according to multiple sources.
Newspapers The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald have obtained a letter from Tennis Australia chief Craig Tiley which outlines plans for the upcoming Grand Slam tournament that will now start on February 8th. Upon arrival in the country players will have to enter a mandatory 14-day quarantine period but will still be allowed to leave their hotel room up to five hours each day within the ‘bio secure bubble.’ They will only be allowed to train if they test negative on the second day of isolation and it is understood that they can only practice with one coach at a time.
The five COVID-19 tests are set to take place on day one, three, seven, 10 and 14. Charter flights to Australia will take place between January 15-17 but the quarantine period will not begin until the last player arrives.
“It’s taken a while, but the great news is it looks like we are going to be able to hold the AO on February 8,” the letter from Tiley reads.
Even more significant is that Tennis Australia is reportedly set to pay for charter flights, player and entourage quarantine costs, meals and accommodation. A somewhat bold move when it was reported on the same day that the organisation confirmed that it will take them five years to recover from the pandemic and that they are using their reserves at present.
“We also expect that we will use the majority of our reserves in maintaining funding to the sport and playing group,” Tiley said in comments published by The Australian newspaper.
“As a result of these costs we are exploring options for a line of credit and/or a loan which will allow us to maintain cash flow at critical times and support us in the recovery from the impacts of the pandemic once access to government subsidies have ended.
“We believe that recovery from the pandemic will take up to five years.”
It is understood that the delayed Grand Slam with all the bubble protocols being implemented could cost up to AUS$100 million which is $20 million more than Tennis Australia’s reserves that they have generated in recent years. According to financial records, their surplus for the year to June 30 was almost cut in two to $5.4 million compared to $10.7M in profit the year prior.
Despite the financial difficulties, Tiley says there will be no impact on the prize money pool awarded at the Australian Open but it will be adjusted in some rounds.
“(the) full $71 million prize money and (we) are working with the tours on redistribution with large increases to the early rounds and a likely first round purse of $100k.” An extract from Tiley’s letter reads.
There are also doubts about if qualifying for the Australian Open will go ahead or not. Tiley is reported as saying that the main draw of the event shouldn’t start on February 1st because it ‘would have been unfair to players who may get infected during quarantine.’ That week would be the week the qualifying tournaments get played.
Outside of their hotels, players will only be allowed to travel to Melbourne Park or the Albert Reserve Tennis Centre.
Tennis Australia or the local government of Victoria are yet to publicly comment on the leaked plans.