As we near the end of the 2020 Tennis calendar, there is one thing that strikes our mind! The first grand slam of the following season i.e the Australian Open 2021! But how are the preparations going on in Melbourne? Even though the tournament is confirmed, the qualifiers aren’t. 

Lucas Lacko, a Serbian ATP professional provided an update about the Australian Open 2021 through a Twitter post. The 33-year-old posted an excerpt from a recently held player council meeting that informed on where things stand with regard to the quarantine procedures in Melbourne. 

The tournament will have to take place with COVID-19 restrictions in place, and it would involve players going into quarantine as part of the protocol. However, there is no confirmation regarding the same and moreover, no clarity yet on how the qualifiers will commence. 

“What needs to be finalized are the first two weeks of the tournament before-hand and what the quarantine period looks like,” a statement from the excerpt read. 

The council’s statement did mention that they are striving to create maximum participation in the Australian Open 2021. But the current scenario is left unexplained. “So the current status is that we need to remain patient and hopefully have more info ASAP,” the statement concluded.

A glimpse of how the closed bubble will function at Australian Open 2021

Organizing a bubble amid threatening conditions is no ordinary task. We’ve seen how the US Open and Roland Garros organizers faced several complications during their respective tournaments. 

However, the organizers at Melbourne now have a head-start to prepare their bubble restrictions for the upcoming tournament. Tennis Australia’s CEO Craig Tiley recently updated fans about how the bubble environment at Melbourne might work. 

“The two-week controlled bubble will be a very strict environment. The objectives will be to protect the community, so the players, while they’re training, will only go from their hotel room to the courts, and then back to the hotel room in a secure protected environment.”

Moreover, COVID testing will take place vigorously for the athletes to safeguard the bubble. No player will receive an exception as curbing the spread remains the main priority. 

The pandemic cases in Australia are fortunately receding with time. Hopefully, when 2021 dawns, we’ll see a safe environment in Melbourne where the players can go and play the Slam without any external pressure.