(Melbourne) Tennis players not vaccinated against COVID-19 will be able to participate in the Australian Open in January with quarantine and regular testing, according to an email from the WTA obtained and published by a specialist journalist.
This WTA player email was forwarded to the reporter for New York Times tennis specialist Ben Rothemberg, who posted it on his Twitter account.
The information contradicts statements made by several senior Australian officials, according to which the unvaccinated would not obtain visas. “Any visitor to Australia should be doubly vaccinated,” said Federal Minister of Immigration Alex Hawke a few days ago.
The decision announced in the WTA email will likely also apply to players in the men’s round, which would allow world number one Novak Djokovic to participate.
The Serb, defending champion in Melbourne and looking for a historic 21e Grand Slam title, has in the past publicly taken a stand against vaccines, declining to say whether he himself had been vaccinated against the coronavirus. Last week, he questioned his presence at the Australian Open.
According to the email from the WTA, the vaccinated players will not need to quarantine on arrival nor to be cloistered in sanitary “bubbles”, and will enjoy “total freedom of movement”. On the other hand, continues the document, the unvaccinated will have to undergo 14 days of quarantine in hotel and regular tests.
“We are reaching out to all of you to clarify false and misleading information being disseminated by third parties about the conditions that players will be facing,” in Melbourne, the email said.
“Because the vaccination rate in the state of Victoria [où se trouve Melbourne] will reach 80% at the end of the week and 90% next month, it is confirmed that conditions for players at the Australian Open will improve significantly, ”the text continued.
The Minister of Sports of the State of Victoria, Martin Pakula, however clarified that the rules concerning the vaccination of the players of the Open were “not yet fixed”.
“We are still discussing […] to know if the rule for international arrivals of unvaccinated will be 14 days of quarantine or the non-acceptance in the country, ”he said. “It shouldn’t be decided for about two weeks.”