Australian Open 2022: Doha, Dubai or Melbourne again?
Will the Australian Open 2022 take place in Dubai or Doha? No, says tournament director Craig Tiley - he wants to start another attempt in Melbourne.
by Florian Goosmann
last edit: May 18, 2021, 08:20 am
"It feels like we have climbed Mount Everest and are now back at the bottom," Craig Tiley told local Australian media . "But the good thing is: we know the way because we've walked it before."
The Australian broadcaster ABC had previously reported that closed Australian borders by mid-2022 could mean that the tournament could move to Dubai or Doha because the players would not participate in a quarantine like this year.
In January, all actors had to go through a 14-day hotel quarantine with only five hours of exit for their training. 72 players even had to stay in the hotel for 14 days because passengers or staff tested positive for COVID-19 on their flight .
Tiley on Australian Open 2022: "Will make it"
"We'll be here in Melbourne, we'll get it done in January," Tiley assured now. Tiley is convinced that a way will be found to bring the players to Australia.
Corona doesn't allow two things, Tiley said, namely, mass gatherings and international travel, "and those are the pillars of our success," he said. Avoiding that "was a challenge".
Australia has so far done extremely well through the corona pandemic, for which the strict strategy for entering the country is blamed.
This year, the professionals were able to move freely in Melbourne again after the quarantine, and most of the spectators were again admitted. However, the tournament had been postponed by three weeks.
The Australian Open 2022 is scheduled for January 17th to 30th.