The head of the Australian Open has said he is confident that the tournament will start as scheduled despite matches at all the lead-up tournaments being suspended on Thursday.
A total of 160 players has been placed into isolation after it was confirmed that an unnamed man who worked at the Grand Hyatt hotel tested positive for COVID-19. Under protocols set out by local health officials all those who stayed at the hotel during the same time the man worked there are required to be tested. Affecting a total of 507 people linked to the upcoming Grand Slam which also includes player support staff and tournament officials.
In the wake of the development Tennis Australia chief Craig Tiley confirmed that all matches on Thursday in Melbourne Park would be cancelled and the draw from next week’s Grand Slam has been delayed by 24 hours. It is understood that Tiley is currently in negotiations with both the WTA and ATP about how all of this week’s tournaments can still finish on time with the possibility of changing the score system being discussed.
“With the lead-in events there’s many options that we could have,” Tiley has told reporters.
“We could look at formats on scores, we could look at the number of courts that we’re using. We’ll work closely with the WTA, the women’s tour, and the ATP – the men’s tour – to figure out what’s the most optimal schedule for that.”
Tennis Australia has insisted that there are low chances that there will be a positive case among the players who have already gone through a 14-day quarantine process upon arriving in the country. They were all subject to continuous testing throughout their quarantine with the majority staying at three hotels in Melbourne. Although a selected number of players were based in Adelaide as well.
“We’re absolutely confident the Australian Open will go ahead,” he said.
“We know that we have a period now we have to work through with those 507 players and their staff. The probability is very low that there’ll been issue — we expect them all to test negative.
“The plan is to continue to play tomorrow as planned. If we have to go through this again, we’ll go through this again.
“We have three-and-a-half weeks of tennis to play and we’ll go in as scheduled.”
The reason for the swift action by the Melbourne government is partly due to the fact they are still trying to establish which type of COVID-19 variant the positive test is linked to. Some others are significantly more contagious than others and therefore could spread more rapidly among people if no action if taken quick enough. Players are allowed to return to the practice courts once their test has come back as negative.
Besides the 24-hour delay to tournaments taking place in Melbourne Park, there is also the issue of poor weather predicted for Friday. However, Tiley is confident that he can keep that impact to a minimum with the use of three stadiums with roofs, as well as nine indoor courts.
“I think the players, from the feedback we’re getting from them, they’re very supportive of what we’re doing and have come to accept the fact that now, when they travel around the world, the environment is different,” he said.
“Anything can happen. Every day you wake up can be different. I think they’ve got used to that.
“Their support has been remarkable and we have been greatly appreciate of that.”
Tennis Australia will publish their schedule of play for Friday later today.
