In addition to the 2021 Australian Open, at least five major events will be held in Victoria, as every big tennis tournament of the summer will be relocated to Victoria.
CEO of Tennis Australia Craig Tiley said Victoria would be the sole host of the summer of tennis. “The big news is that we are now backing one horse and that is Victoria, because this is where the Australian Open is,” he said.
All international players will be required to travel to Melbourne and enter a two week quarantine bubble.
Players and their entourages are set to arrive in Melbourne in mid-December and will stay until February, quarantining for two weeks upon arrival. Players will be allowed to play and train but will be restricted to hotels or the tennis court until they have completed quarantine.
Over 550 players from around the globe will need to test negative for COVID-19 twice before being allowed into the bubble.
However, they will be free to move around Victoria once quarantine is completed and join a restricted amount of fans at Melbourne Park for the Open.
"So the Australian Open will be played in an open environment with players moving around freely, as well as fans — at least up to 25 per cent,’’ Craig Tiley confirmed.
Tiley mentioned the lead up events would be "redesigned" for the summer of tennis and even mentioned the possibility of hosting tournaments after the completion of the Australian Open.
"Now it’s a matter of working out with the Victorian government what the quarantining program looks like, that it ensures the safety of the community and then of course the safety of the players coming in," Tiley said.
The CEO of Tennis Australia also revealed plans to host some events in regional Victoria, in a bid to boost the economy.
"We would love to be able to host events in regional Victoria," Tiley said.
"It’s just a matter of finalising the schedule and then finalising the location but we do have an objective if we can to take some of these events to regional Victoria," he stated.
There is also the possibility of events being held in the state following the Australian Open, at tour level but more specifically at Challenger level. Annual Challenger Tour tournaments the Burnie International and Launceston International, which are usually held in Tasmania in the month of February will both not be held this summer, with the both events likely to be relocated to Victoria.
Crowd capacity at the 2021 Australian Open is expected to be at 25-50% capacity, subject to government laws.