Australian Open timing up in air with player quarantine 'incredibly complex'
Fresh doubts have emerged about the timing of January's Australian Open in Melbourne with the Victorian government still to sign off on the precise quarantine requirements for international tennis stars.
Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews remains confident the Open will go ahead in Melbourne but "there’s a lot of work to be done to make sure that that’s as safe as possible". He again scoffed at suggestions that quarantine conditions were a "done deal".
A communication from the men's ATP Tour to players overnight Tuesday confirmed there were "some new challenges around the previously planned arrival dates for players and team members".
Tennis Australia has previously stated that the entire Australian tennis summer could be played in Melbourne - with events even potentially taking place in Australia after the Open - as a way to minimise the complexities that come with players crossing state boundaries to compete in different events.
But central to TA's plans was the need for tennis stars to have access to practice facilities while undertaking a compulsory 14-day period of quarantine. The Andrews government and Victoria's Department of Health and Human Services is yet to sign off on the plans and continues to analyse requirements for various major events scheduled for in Melbourne during Christmas and through January.
The Australian Open has been a key plan of the city's major events calendar since the tournament was relocated to Melbourne Park in 1988. Premier Andrews expressed his confidence on Wednesday that the Open would go ahead.
“There was some reporting earlier in the week that this all was some sort of done deal, that there would be lead-up tournaments … and the whole thing was finalised," he told reporters.
“I just want to make the point - this is incredibly complex, it has to be safely, it has to be done properly. So that reporting was not accurate.
“We are working very, very closely with Tennis Australia. They are working all of their partners. We’re confident that we’ll finish up with an Australian Open. It’s a very important event.
“But there’s a lot of work to be done to make sure that that’s as safe as possible – not just from the broader Victorian community from a public health point of view.
“It has to be safe for those involved in the event.
“It’s a massive task. There is more work that has to be done and we’re deeply engaged with Tennis Australia and others to get that outcome."
Tennis Australia has been pushing for players to arrive in Australia in early December, giving them plenty of time to quarantine before events begin. The Open is scheduled to begin on January 18 while the new ATP Cup men's teams tournament - which took place in Perth, Sydney and Brisbane earlier this year - was set to begin early in the new year.
But the ATP has indicated that those arrangements were now under review.
"In discussions with Tennis Australia over the past 24 hours, we have been informed there are some new challenges around the previously planned arrival dates for players and team members," the ATP said in a note to players.
"We continue to work with Tennis Australia on confirming plans for January, and we will provide an update as soon as more information is available in the coming days.
"We understand there is uncertainty about the start of the 2021 season, and we are working as hard as possible to deliver the best possible calendar of events to players."
When contacted on Wednesday, TA could not provide an immediate comment, but indicated more information would be made available later.
TA chief executive Craig Tiley has said that the costs involved in implementing strict biosecurity measures Down Under would exceed $30 million.
"It's going to be painful. We are in investing in the event," Tiley told The Age and Sydney Morning Herald. "We have over $33m in biosecurity costs we didn't have before. We will have a reduction in our partnership revenue.
"I think our broadcast revenue will stay whole because we'll be able to broadcast across Australia and around the world. Our merchandise numbers will be down, ticket numbers will be down, hospitality will be down and costs will be up. We will run at a loss this year."
A spokesman for Nine confirmed the network was still working around plans to broadcast "a full allotment" of tennis events in Australia this summer.
Australia has largely brought COVID-19 to heel but the nation is on high alert after a fresh outbreak in South Australia state in recent days, which has prompted neighbouring states to tighten their borders.
World No.2 Rafael Nadal said arriving later in Australia would not be a "big difference" as long as players could train while in quarantine.
"The only negative thing is we have to be there like 16 days in advance [of competing]," he told reporters at the ATP Finals on Tuesday.
World No.1 Novak Djokovic said on Monday he was still in the dark as to whether he would be able to lead Serbia's title defence at the team-based ATP Cup.
With agencies