The tennis world holds its breath at the wave of news that arrives from Australia and that, in a few hours, goes from being hopeful to more than worrying. Once Tennis Australia had made official that all tournaments of the tour that concludes with the dispute of the Open de Australia 2021 would be played in the State of Victoria, a very restrictive governmental decision of the national government puts the future of the first Grand Slam of the year in serious trouble. Everything had been planned taking into account that the players would have to quarantine for 14 days, for which they would have to arrive in Australia in mid-December, but it cannot be.
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Breaking News: The Australian Government is not allowing tennis players to enter the country in December.
What does this mean for the #AutralianOpen, and all the events prior? @paul_annacone, Jim Courier and @Steve_Weissman discuss on #TCLive→https://t.co/tPoe44TDv0 pic.twitter.com/aDKmHO96Yx
— Tennis Channel (@TennisChannel) November 17, 2020
In an unexpected and unprecedented decision, the Australian Executive has reported that no tennis player will be allowed to enter the country until January 1, 2021, in order to comply with a series of prevention protocols against COVID- 19. This totally dynamites the possibility of playing a tournament prior to the Open de Australia 2021 if it were kept on its original dates: from January 18 to 31. Taking this into account, there only seem to be three possible future scenarios that will have to be resolved as soon as possible, waiting for an appearance of Craig Tiley clarify the situation and reveal if you have a plan:
- Elimination of previous tournaments and the 2021 Australian Open without any previous competition on Australian soil
It seems the least likely and would mean irreversible economic damage for a federation that needs to carry out this tour. It does not seem feasible that tournaments can be played in other countries, since the 14-day quarantine upon arrival in Australia is non-negotiable for the competent authorities
- Change of dates of all tournaments of the tour and displacement of the Australian Open 2021 at the beginning of February
Taking into account that the appointments after the Australian Grand Slam are not of great substance, a joint work could be done with the ATP and WTA so that everything takes 15 days, thus allowing the tour to run as planned. 14 days of quarantine, although this time since January 1, and tournaments prior to the Grand Slam in the second half of the month, for the star event to start at the beginning of February.
Change of plans. Tennis #Australia informed the players (and their teams) that they will not be able to start the #quarantine before January 1 (it was scheduled for the 2nd half of December). So tournaments, including the @AustralianOpen, must be rearranged.
– Sebastián Torok (@sebatorok) November 17, 2020
- Definitive cancellation of the Australian Open 2021 and all previous tournaments
It would be a serious setback for the entire tennis world and a disastrous decision for Tennis Australia, which has been working hard for a long time to prepare sanitary protocols that would allow the tournament to go ahead. The social and economic impact would be gigantic and would postpone Roger Federer’s return to the slopes, as the most representative element in sports.
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