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MELBOURNE, Australia – The sports minister for the state of Victoria says the 2021 Australian Open in Melbourne will “most likely” be delayed for a week or two from its scheduled start on January 18.
Martin Pakula also said that negotiations between the various levels of government and tennis officials are nearing completion and that the first Grand Slam tennis tournament of the year should go on.
“There are a number of potential dates on the table. I’ve seen reports suggesting it’s likely to be a week or two delayed. I think it’s still very likely, “Pakula said Wednesday.” But that’s not the only option. As you know, the French Open has been delayed for several months and Wimbledon hasn’t happened at all.
“I still think it’s much more likely that it’s a shorter delay than a longer one. I don’t want to repeat myself unduly but these are very complex negotiations “.
Craig Tiley, tournament director of the Australian Open and CEO of Tennis Australia last weekend, said final dates are expected to be confirmed within two weeks. The Australian Open is usually held in the last two weeks of January, which coincides with the summer school holidays in Australia.
Victoria has been hit hard by a second wave of COVID-19, forcing the city of Melbourne into a lengthy lockdown, an overnight curfew, travel and other restrictions in the state. But he no longer has active cases, and his latest deaths from the virus in the state were on October 28.
Pakula, the sports minister, declined to comment on the players and their entourage’s quarantine arrangements amid speculation that the trial could be shortened to just 10 days, if not to reaffirm that he would surely be forced to quarantine. All arrivals to Australia currently must undergo a 14 day hotel quarantine.
“The exact nature of that quarantine, whether or not it’s their bubble, or something more common, is still part of those conversations,” Pakula said. “The quarantine requirements will be what are ultimately agreed with public health (the authorities) and so it will be a question for the ATP and the WTA whether or not they are acceptable.”
Officials conducted around 10,000 coronavirus tests before and during the successfully held US Open in New York in September, with France’s Benoit Paire the only player to return a positive COVID-19 result.
“An extremely rigorous testing regime will be applied to players both before they leave the port they come from and when they arrive,” Pakula said. “And then I consistently imagine the whole time they’re in their bubble (biosecure).”
Last week, Tennis Australia announced that all starting tournaments usually held in Brisbane, Sydney, Perth and Adelaide would be relocated to the state of Victoria to avoid conflicts with the various national border restrictions within Australia. But doubts were cast on previous events when Victoria’s state premier Dan Andrews said negotiations over those tournaments and player quarantines were far from a deal.
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