Australian Open: Extra preparation tournament for players in tough quarantine?
New plans in Melbourne: Another WTA tournament is to take place in the week before the Australian Open - exclusively for players in the tough quarantine.
by Florian Goosmann
last edit: Jan 24, 2021, 10:19 am
72 players are stuck in the "tough" quarantine in Melbourne, and that just after the complete preparation for the new season. How much of it is left after the two weeks , despite the fitness equipment in the hotel rooms? How long does it take to acclimatize from the hotel air conditioning to the Australian temperatures? And whether a few dry or mattresses are enough to be competitive with two or three real training sessions - with the players who are already allowed on the pitch every day?
These are the big questions that are currently being asked. And with it the question of whether it makes sense to play or train in a tournament in the week before the Australian Open (start: February 8th). The ATP Cup and two other ATP 250 tournaments as well as two WTA 500 events are planned here in Melbourne Park.
Extra WTA tournament for quarantine players
Now, at least at the WTA level, there seems to be a new approach: A separate tournament for the players who are completely stuck in the hotel. This is reported by the Australian newspaper The Age . The extra event should start on February 2nd or 3rd, and 28 players are allowed to take part.
The tournament would then be the sixth (!) Event in the week before the Australian Open in Melbourne Park.
There should be no extra event for the men. Instead of a separate tournament, the men only asked to postpone their regular tournaments by 24 to 48 hours.
Three sets of wins are to be retained
Will anything change at the Australian Open - a reduction in the men's winning rates, for example? Nothing is currently known about this. Tournament boss Craig Tiley said a few days ago that one does not want to deviate from the usual three winning rates at the Australian Open. "Three sets of wins for men and two sets of wins for women is the current state. And we plan to keep that going," Tiley said, according to The Australian .