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Melbourne will be a maximum security “jail” for tennis players

S. D.

Updated:01/13/2021 10: 43h

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If during the dispute of the Australian Open some tennis player is infected with coronavirus It will not be due to carelessness or lack of effort on the part of the tournament organization. All players and officials who travel to Melbourne must undergo daily nose, mouth and saliva tests, will go to training sessions under close surveillance and will have alarms in their hotels to ensure that no one breaks the quarantine.

A series of strict security measures for the 1200 participants among players, their entourages and officials, revealed by the Minister of Emergency Services of Victoria, Lisa Neville, who assured that they will have «the strictest rules for tennis anywhere in the world». “There are bubbles that are operating in Doha right now, but this is the strictest program in the world in terms of hotel quarantine for our tennis players,” he explained. In Doha, the organization only required players to test negative once before they could play.

Three important hotels such as the Grand Hyatt, the Pullman Albert Park and the View, those designated to receive the participants, have even been redesigned to facilitate this quarantine and avoid risks. Among other things, its exits have been equipped with alarm systems to ensure that players and members of the organization do not go out of control.

Players caught breaking the rules face a $ 20,000 fine (12,662 euros) by the Victorian government, in addition to the immediate expulsion from the tournament.

Escorted to training

All participants in the Australian Open must comply a quarantine of 14 days before the start of the tournament. They will have to stay in their hotels at all times, unless they are allowed out to train in the COVID-proof bubbles.

These are special bubbles in Melbourne Park, the National Tennis Center and the Albert Reserve, which will include access to outdoor gyms, physical therapy and nutritionists, and for the exclusive use of players. They will be able to train with another nominated player and his support staff. In addition to being analyzed daily, all will be escorted to and from the hotel to the training sites by the local police. Access to training sessions will be allowed on the second day of the players’ quarantine period, provided they have tested negative for the virus.

To control these bubbles and manage the control of possible infections sSome 1,500 more employees have been hired, which include more than 600 resident support members, who will be located on each floor of each hotel, 210 event support members, and nearly 300 COVID members who will monitor players and staff as they travel to and from quarantine.

Faced with such complexity to be able to play tennis, a good number of players are considering giving up the tournament, as the American John Isner has already done.

Guarantee the future of the tournament

Neville defended himself against criticism for hosting the tournament and allowing so many people in while thousands of Australians are still trapped abroad, and Melburnians are barred from returning home from Sydney and Brisbane, explaining that hosting the Australian Open this year it was vital to ensuring the future of the Melbourne event.

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