Unvaccinated players can compete in Australian Open after quarantine: report

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MELBOURNE – Unvaccinated athletes will be able to participate in next year’s Australian Open after spending 14 days in quarantine, the WTA Tour told its players, according to a leaked email to US media.

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The email, obtained by freelance tennis journalist Ben Rothenberg, contradicts a statement made last week by Australia’s immigration minister that players would have to be vaccinated twice to obtain a visa to compete in the Grand Slam.

Up to a third of the WTA and men’s ATP players remain unvaccinated, according to reports, and men’s world number one Novak Djokovic has refused to reveal his vaccination status.

In the email, the WTA said it wanted to “clear up false and misleading information” about the conditions players would be subjected to at the Australian Open.

The WTA said the information came from organizers Tennis Australia, who had asked the players to keep it a secret for “a few days” as they were still discussing the details with the government.

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Tennis Australia declined to comment.

Victoria State Sports Minister Martin Pakula said a decision had not been made on whether unvaccinated foreign players would be allowed into the country.

“It is not resolved,” he told 3AW radio station.

“We are still working out with Tennis Australia and the Commonwealth whether unvaccinated foreign nationals will be allowed to enter Australia and, if so, under what circumstances they will be allowed.

“We don’t expect that to be resolved for another couple of weeks.”

Victoria’s Prime Minister Daniel Andrews said last week that there would be no special arrangements for unvaccinated players to compete in the state, where vaccination is mandatory for athletes, coaches and officials in professional sport.

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Pakula said TA chief Craig Tiley had told her that the vaccination rate among tennis players was nearly 80%.

He added that fully vaccinated players would not have to self-quarantine upon arrival in Australia.

“The only thing we have assured everyone is that vaccinated players will be treated in the same way as any other vaccinated who enters the country,” he said.

As of November 1, fully vaccinated citizens, permanent residents and their overseas family members arriving in Sydney and Melbourne will no longer need to self-quarantine.

All the players who arrived from abroad for the 2021 edition of the Australian Open were forced to undergo two weeks of quarantine, although most were allowed to leave their hotels to practice.

Vaccinated players entering Australia from December 1 will not be required to quarantine themselves or remain in a biosecure bubble, the WTA email said.

The email also says that qualifying, which was moved to the United Arab Emirates for the 2021 tournament, would again take place at Melbourne Park as usual.

There was no immediate response to a request for comment from the WTA.

The Australian Open is scheduled to begin on January 17.