Australian Open tighten the rules of the game
The Australian Open tightened the rules for players. The event from February 8 to 21, 2021 was also confirmed in a corresponding document.
by Florian Goosmann
last edit: Dec 16, 2020, 06:19 pm
This is reported by the site tennismajors.com , which claims to have seen an eight-page document sent to the players this Tuesday.
Accordingly, a maximum of 1,000 people are allowed at the Australian Open 2021, consisting of players and supervisors. In other words: The regulation, according to which some players were allowed to bring up to four team members according to their merits , has been deleted. A maximum of two supervisors are allowed per head, and even that not for everyone, but only the main field players in singles and the top 10 players in doubles. Exception: If some places become free (if players forego their number of companions), a third or fourth person can be requested. If seats were given up voluntarily, the player would receive 7,000 Australian dollars (which the association saves on flights, hotels and meals).
Furthermore, the day of arrival was limited to January 15 or 16 (the 17th is out), six negative corona tests are also necessary in order to be eligible to play in the tournament. If one test turns out negative, you are entitled to a second. And if a COVID-19 disease actually occurs and a player is no longer eligible to play, he will receive 50 percent of the first-round prize money. Incidentally, that should amount to a proud 100,000 Australian dollars.
Quarantine days: 19 hours in the hotel, 5 hours on the premises
During the 14-day quarantine period, five hours are allowed on the facility for players and a supervisor, the remaining 19 hours have to be spent in the hotel. Two hours are possible on the pitch with another player, 90 minutes in the fitness area. In the second week of quarantine, the choice of training partner can be expanded from one to three. After the 14-day quarantine, players would eventually be allowed to live in private accommodation and move around Melbourne freely.
Background: The state of Victoria, in which the Australian Open will be held, has been free of COVID-19 new infections for more than 40 days - and they want to do everything to ensure that it stays that way.
On the subject: This is what the ATP calendar should look like for the beginning of 2021