Australian Open 2021 to be delayed, new dates revealed by Tennis Australia CEO

Tennis fans around the world will now have to wait a little longer for the start of Australian Open 2021 following Tennis Australia CEO Craig Tiley's latest announcement. The tournament is usually played during the mid January to start of February window at the Melbourne Park but the Australian Open 2021 has been postponed to the start of February for the first time ever in its history.

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Australian Open dates released

According to the latest report published by News Corp, Craig Tiley has confirmed the Australian Open 2021 has been postponed until February 8, 2021. The report claimed that Tiley has informed players about the new Australian Open dates already.

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The reason behind the same is to slot in a week of warm-up tournaments after the players emerge from a 2-week quarantine period. The ATP Cup has already been scrapped for 2021 mainly for the purpose of players preparing for the Australian Open. Recently, 20-time Grand Slam champion Rafael Nadal had said that players need to be flexible to understand the situation and to find a way to play as many tournaments as possible next year.

Defending champion Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal are likely to travel for the tournament. Roger Federer, who has been nursing an injury for yearly a year, is also expected to mark his comeback in the competition. Tiley, in an email statement, said that players will have to quarantine for two weeks from January 15, but the Victorian government has reportedly agreed to special conditions for players. The statement further said that there will be strict conditions, but after quarantine, players are free to stay where they want, go where they want, play warmup matches and then compete in the AO in front of significant crowds in a great Melbourne atmosphere for the first time in many months.

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Why was the Australian Open delayed?

According to a report by the Associated Press, Victoria was hard-hit by a second wave of COVID-19, forcing the city of Melbourne into a lengthy lockdown, a night curfew and travel and other restrictions in the state. But despite more than 800 deaths during that time, the state has had no new infections for 34 consecutive days. The delay and quarantine period puts many of the warmup tournaments in jeopardy ahead of the Australian Open. 

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Image: Australian Open / Twitter