(Melbourne) All players playing the Australian Open, scheduled for January in Melbourne, will have to be vaccinated against COVID-19, tournament manager Craig Tiley confirmed on Saturday, increasing the pressure on the world No.1, the Serbian Novak Djokovic, nine times titled in Melbourne and who refuses to say if he is vaccinated or not.
The Australian Open, the first Grand Slam tournament of the year, will be held January 17-30 in Melbourne. Australia’s second-largest city has barely emerged from more than 260 cumulative days of confinement, making it one of the longest-placed cities in the world.
Last month, the state of Victoria, whose capital is Melbourne, had already ruled out granting a special exemption to unvaccinated players so that they could participate in the tournament.
“There is a lot of speculation about vaccination and to be absolutely clear, when the Prime Minister (of the state of Victoria) announced that everyone at the site should be vaccinated, we did. let players know, ”Craig Tiley told Channel Nine.
“All the players understand it, our sponsors will have to be vaccinated, all the staff working on the Australian Open will have to be vaccinated,” he insisted.
Novak Djokovic, who could aim at Melbourne a historic 21e Grand Slam title, “said he saw it as a private matter,” continued Craig Tiley. We would love to see Novak here. He knows he will have to be vaccinated to play here ”.
For the 2021 edition of the Australian Open, scheduled for February instead of January, the players and their coaches had to observe a quarantine of two weeks in hotels.
The spectator gauge had been set at 30,000 per day, or 50% of the capacity, and during the tournament, a five-day lockdown was declared in the state of Victoria.
Organizers have announced that the grandstands may be full this time around, with the vaccination rate in the state of Victoria approaching 90%.
Apart from Djokovic, Craig Tiley has confirmed the participation of Rafael Nadal, also in search of a 21e coronation in Grand Slam.
Among women, world No. 1 Ashleigh Barty will try to win at home, against defending champion Naomi Osaka who has confirmed her presence, as will Serena Williams who is aiming for a 24e Grand Slam.