Berlin – The vaccination question for the Australian Open of tennis professionals causes confusion. It is possible that unvaccinated players will be able to take part in the first Grand Slam tournament of the year at the beginning of the coming season. However, the conditions would be strict: Australian media quoted from a leaked email from the national association Tennis Australia to the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA), according to which players without full vaccination are allowed to enter Melbourne, but then have to be in strict hotel quarantine for two weeks . This would seriously affect the preparation.
Vaccinated professionals, on the other hand, only need one corona test before leaving for the Australian Open, which is to be held from January 17 to 30, 2022, and one within 24 hours after arrival. After that, they could move freely.
However, the sports minister of the state of Victoria, in which Melbourne is located, emphasized a short time later that a final decision on whether unvaccinated participants should be allowed to enter the country had not yet been made. “We expect that this will only be decided in the next few weeks,” said Martin Pakula.
At the moment, the vaccination rates in tennis are low, around a third of professionals are unvaccinated. According to the ATP, the proportion of men vaccinated is around 65 percent. The WTA stated that “more than 60 percent” of the women had full vaccination protection.
In addition to the strict rules in Australia, the question of the vaccination status of world number one Novak Djokovic is causing debates in tennis. The defending champion could write tennis history at the Australian Open and overtake his permanent rivals Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer with the 21st Grand Slam title. Djokovic, who was infected last year, left open whether he was vaccinated by referring to his privacy. The Serb also did not say whether he will compete in Melbourne in just under three months.
Australian top politicians had recently stressed several times that unvaccinated people are unlikely to be allowed to attend the Australian Open. “I don’t think an unvaccinated tennis player will get a visa to travel to this country,” said Victoria Prime Minister Daniel Andrews. Australia’s immigration minister, Alex Hawke, also emphasized his country’s strict entry regulations. Full vaccination as a requirement is universal, Hawke said on ABC Radio, and “not just for tennis players.” Hawke did not want to turn to Novak Djokovic personally. Olympic champion Alexander Zverev stated that the problem did not concern him and thus let his vaccination status through.