Vaccinated players will enjoy more freedom than those without Covid jab at Australian Open, confirms tournament director Craig Tiley
- None of the players at the Australian Open will have a two-week hard quarantine
- But the vaccinated stars will have more freedom than those unvaccinated
- Tournament director Craig Tiley said it will take place in usual January slot
The Australian Open has confirmed that vaccinated tennis players will enjoy more freedom than their unvaccinated peer group when the next Grand Slam happens early next year.
But none of the players will be subjected to two weeks of hard quarantine, as happened for some earlier this year.
Instead, they are likely to be kept in a two-week bubble that will allow them to move between tournament hotels and the tennis courts.
The Australian Open will take place in January rather than February as it did this year
Craig Tiley, the tournament director, told the Controllable The Controllables podcast that while all the plans are still being worked through, there will be advantages for competitors and support staff who have been jabbed against Covid-19.
Last weekend, Andy Murray called for more tennis players to protect themselves and the communities they travel to.
‘There will be different conditions for vaccinated versus unvaccinated,’ said Tiley. ‘If the conditions are vastly different it’s probably better to be vaccinated then you don’t have those different conditions.’
He also stated that the event, which was put back to February this year, will revert to its usual January slot.
Host city Melbourne is currently in its sixth lockdown, although the numbers of Australians getting jabbed have started toward a target of 80 per cent of the population.
Craig Tiley admitted it will be better for players to be vaccinated at the tournament