Australian Open: but no compulsory vaccination for the players?
According to former player Casey Dellacqua , there could be no compulsory vaccination at the Australian Open.
by Nikolaus Fink
last edit: Oct 10, 2021, 07:56 pm
The good news first: The Australian Open will take place next year from January 17th to 30th. At least that's what former player Casey Dellacqua announced in an interview with Wide World of Sports Australia . The 36-year-old should be a trustworthy source in this regard, as she acts as an interface between WTA players and the event for tournament director Craig Tiley's team.
And Dellacqua had good news for another group too. Contrary to what was initially rumored , unvaccinated professionals should also be allowed to compete in the first Grand Slam tournament of the year. "What I can say is that the players who come to Australia - the unvaccinated and the vaccinated - will have very different conditions." What the Australian meant exactly was not discussed further. Only around 50 percent of tennis professionals are currently vaccinated.
Basically there will again be a separate "bubble" for the players in Melbourne. "There they will have the opportunity to play competitions. But we can only build on what we are working on now," said Dellacqua. It is already clear that the players will be brought back to Australia on charter flights. This year there were some corona infections after the trips .
Currently, all people arriving in Australia - regardless of whether they have been vaccinated or not - have to go into a two-week quarantine. In Melbourne, extremely strict rules are currently in force again, overall, the city of millions has been in lockdown for more than 250 days since the outbreak of the corona pandemic - a worldwide record! The current lockdown - already the sixth in total in the state of Victoria - is expected to continue for several weeks.