Vaccinated players will face fewer restrictions at the 2022 Australian Open in Melbourne, Victoria’s sports minister Martin Pakula has said.
Pakula also said he was “very confident” of the first Grand Slam tournament of 2022 proceeding at Melbourne Park from January 17-30.
As of now, Tennis Australia has not outlined the quarantine requirements or vaccination conditions for international players as well as spectators.
At the US Open that began this week, everyone 12 and older must show proof of at least one dose of a Covid-19 vaccine to enter the National Tennis Center – a change in policy announced last Friday. But players at Flushing Meadows don’t need to be vaccinated.
Both the men’s and women’s main tours say that vaccination rates of their players are currently just above 50%.
Former World No. 1 Andy Murray is vaccinated and says as regular international travelers; players have a responsibility to “look out for others.”
“What I’m very clear on, what I’m very sure about, is that the rules for unvaccinated players and the rules for vaccinated players, I’m quite confident will be very different. We’ll provide clarity for the ATP and the WTA very shortly, but I think they can be very confident that being vaccinated will be a wise thing for them to do before they seek to come to Australia”, Pakula told a Melbourne radio station on Wednesday.
Australian Open organizers are hoping players can avoid the hard hotel quarantine and other restrictions they endured in 2021 due to rising vaccination rates in the general public in Australia.
On Wednesday, Victorian officials said they had recorded 120 new coronavirus cases, the first time the state has reached triple Covid-19 figures in a year. There have been six lockdowns in Victoria since the pandemic started.
State officials are aiming for an 80 per cent vaccination rate. Currently in Victoria, about 35 per cent of the population has had one or both doses of vaccines.
