The Australian Open tournament kicks off on February 8 next year after being postponed for three weeks due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The first Grand Slam of the 2021 season was scheduled to take place in Melbourne from 18 to 31 January.
The Regulations
The four-day men’s qualifiers event has been moved to Doha, Qatar and will start on January 10.
Players will arrive in Melbourne on January 15 for a 14-day separation period under local coronavirus regulations.
The news was confirmed when ATP announced the first seven-week men’s tour next year.
The Events
The season will kick off with events in Delray Beach in the United States and Antalya in Turkey on January 5th.
There will be two competitions in Melbourne starting on 31 January – one of which is Adelaide International exported – while the 12-team ATP Cup will be held from 1 to 5 February.
“The revised calendar for the start of the 2021 season represents a great effort to work together throughout tennis, under challenging circumstances,” said ATP chairperson Andrea Gaudenzi.
“Health and safety will continue to be a priority as we try to address the challenges ahead.”
As serious negotiations continue between Tennis Australia and the state of Victoria, at least now we have strong days of delays in the Australian Open.
Quarantine Rules
There was initial opposition to the rules of segregation from male players, in particular. It will be difficult for top athletes, in the construction of the Grand Slam, but there is no such thing as difficulty for Australian citizens returning home.
With only 1,000 people allowed to enter Victoria for the tournament itself, the graduation will take place in the Middle East, a women’s event planned for Dubai.
Within 14 days of solitary confinement, athletes must remain in their rooms for 19 hours a day: they will be allowed to go out only for exercise, exercise and dining in the area.
According to a recent letter sent to the players, and seen by BBC Sport, only one member of their team will be able to join them at the venue. And in the first week of solitary confinement, a player should get acquainted with the same partner each day.
Any violation of the law will be met with various disciplinary action – including the threat of deportation.
And then two weeks later, when I hope the players will have returned the five negative Covid PCR tests, they will be free. There will be no bubble: players will be able to sit and eat where they wish.
Other Competitions
ATP says all competitions from the European Court circulating in court in mid-April “are scheduled to take place as originally planned”.
But there are still question marks on what happened after the Australian Open. The Indian Wells tournament will not be held in March, and the owner of the IMG tournament was investigating whether he could move the Miami Open to the Middle East: a region that will host more tennis in the first quarter of 2021.
