Melbourne to keep Australian Open: Tiley

Friday, 3 July 2020:

NOVAK DJOKOVIC of Serbia celebrates winning the Australian Open at Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Australia.
NOVAK DJOKOVIC of Serbia celebrates winning the Australian Open at Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Australia.


The 2021 Australian Open will proceed in Melbourne - and Melbourne only - despite Victoria's alarming COVID-19 spike.

Victoria on Friday reported another 66 coronavirus cases, the 17th straight day of double-digit infection numbers prompting talk that the season-opening grand slam may need to shift to either Sydney or Brisbane.

But that won't be happening, according to tournament boss Craig Tiley, who is continuing to plan for six different scenarios ranging from a worst-case broadcast-only event to as close to business as usual as possible with strict biosecurity measures in place.

"Nothing has changed for us in terms of our planning," Tiley told AAP.

"The environment around us has changed, and will continue to change, as we've seen with the current spike in Victoria. We're optimistic the additional measures currently in place will be successful - and restrictions will continue to be eased over the coming months.

"So I'm confident we will run the Australian Open in Melbourne and other events around Australia in January and we're working closely with all our authorities on the regulations regarding mass gatherings, physical distancing and increased hygiene that are being put in place."

The reality is, Melbourne Park and its 2km precinct housing not only state-of-the-art tennis facilities but also a plethora of bars and entertainment hubs is the only location in Australia equipped to stage a slam.

A total of 33 courts are used during the tournament, including three with retractable roofs, with an additional 18 available at nearby venues.

World tennis's biggest names and their entourages enjoy a four-storey player pod with gyms, medical and treatment rooms, ice baths, warm-up facilities, change rooms, a beauty bar, concierge and transport reception.

"All this will be in one self-contained area, which will be crucial in COVID times," Tiley said.

As well as Rod Laver Arena, with a capacity for 15,000 spectators, the National Tennis Centre has four other show courts seating between 3000 and 11,500 fans.

Melbourne Park versus Sydney Olympic Park or the Brisbane Tennis Centre is a first-round knockout.

Sydney has nine match courts, with one roof still being completed on Ken Rosewall Arena, plus six practice courts, smaller change rooms and dining facilities.

Pat Rafter Arena, which has 5,500 seats but no roof, is one of 23 ITF-standard courts in Brisbane.

The venue's capacity is for around 10,000 fans, not in the same ball park as Melbourne, which boasts a record daily attendance of 93,709.

So the biggest event on the annual Australian sporting calendar will only go ahead in January in Melbourne, Tiley said.

"The US Open and the French Open are exploring mandatory testing, varying levels of quarantine and limiting entourages," he said.

"Of course we are looking at all these options, and more, as part of our scenario planning.

"It's difficult to predict exactly what will need to be in place as guidelines and protocols are changing week by week, and sometimes even day by day."






AAP