Top three men, women to quarantine in Adelaide
MELBOURNE: Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal will be among top men and women players heading to Adelaide to serve their 14-day mandatory quarantine before travelling to Melbourne for Australian Open, organizers have said.
Hundreds of players and entourages will arrive in Australia from Jan. 15 and undergo a mandatory, 14-day quarantine as part of COVID-19 health protocols before the Australian Open at Melbourne Park.
Tennis Australia Chief Executive Craig Tiley said the organisers needed a second city to ensure they did not exceed the limit set by the authorities for people quarantining in Melbourne.
Adelaide will now host the top three men and women players, including Ash Barty and Simona Halep, who will also play an exhibition event before heading to Melbourne for warmup events to be played at the Australian Open venue from Jan. 31.
"We approached the South Australian government about the possibility of them quarantining at least 50 people," Tiley told Tennis Channel.
"But they wouldn't have any interest in doing it, because there's no benefit to them to put their whole community at risk.
"But it would be a benefit if there was an exhibition just before Melbourne. So we chose the top three men and top three women and they'll play an exhibition on the 29th and 30th of January."
The players will be allowed five hours outside their hotel rooms to train during the 14-day quarantine and Tiley confirmed that health regulations would be the same in Adelaide. Agencies