Changes made to ATP and WTA schedules to aid those affected by quarantine
An extra Australian Open warm-up event has been added to the WTA Tour schedule while tweaks have been made to the ATP calendar in order to assist those who have been in hard lockdown.
On the back of several people testing positive for coronavirus after landing in Melbourne on chartered flights, 72 players were forced to go into 14 days of quarantine.
It meant the players – among them Grand Slam winners Garbine Muguruza, Victoria Azarenka and Sloane Stephens – were unable to train, leaving them undercooked compared to their rivals ahead of the Australian Open.
Authorities, though, have decided to make changes to the calendars as an extra WTA 500 event, the Grampians Trophy, will now take place from February 3-7.
The other two WTA events – the Gippsland Trophy and the Yarra Valley Classic – will still run from January 31 to February 6, but the fields will be reduced.
Meanwhile, the ATP has made slight alterations as they have pushed back the start of three events by 24 hours. The two ATP 250 tournaments, the Great Ocean Road Open and the Murray River Open, will now commence on February 1 and the ATP Cup will kick off on February 2.
“This has been a particularly challenging time for the athletes in hard lockdown and we, along with the WTA and ATP, aim to do everything we can to help,” Australian Open Tournament Director Craig Tiley said.
“These changes to the lead-in events have been made to give the 72 players a little bit of extra time to help them prepare. We also will prioritise them for things like practice sessions, gym and ice baths.”
Schedule
WTA 500 Gippsland Trophy, January 31–February 6
WTA 500 Yarra Valley Classic, January 31–February 6
ATP 250 Great Ocean Road Open, February 1-7
ATP 250 Murray River Open, February 1-7
WTA 500 Grampians Trophy, February 3-7
WTA 250 Phillip Island Trophy, February 13-19
ATP Cup – February 2-7
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