The WTA has announced the program of the first seven weeks of the 2021 tour schedule, with the beginning of it in the tournament of Abu Dhabi, a level 500 event to be played from January 5 to 13 at the Zayed Sports City International Tennis Center.
As the ATP has done with theirs, the WTA has also prepared a program just seven weeks away, “taking into account increased travel restrictions and mandatory quarantine guidelines established by local governments, “he says in his statement. The preliminary phase for the Australian Open will take place in Dubai from January 10 to 13, and both events will allow travel to Melbourne from one of Tennis Australia's designated charter hubs in Dubai (plus Singapore and Los Angeles).
Once these events have concluded, the players and their respective support teams They will travel to Australia, where they will complete the mandatory two-week quarantine. After the quarantine period, simultaneously two WTA 500 tournaments in Melbourne Park from January 31 to February 7. Will follow Australian Open 2021, February 8-21, including singles, doubles and mixed doubles tables.
In the second week of the Australian Open there will be a WTA 250, which will allow the players to remain in Melbourne, thus ensuring three weeks of competition. Steve Simon, WTA President and CEO, said in the statement: “We are very pleased to announce the first round of tournaments representing the opening weeks of the WTA 2021 season, all of which will operate in an environment that puts health and safety in the foreground “. “We want to express our sincere appreciation for the cooperation between key tennis stakeholders and organizations, along with local health authorities who have been vital in getting to this point. The hard work will continue as we look further into 2021 to ensure a safe and robust schedule. “
Due to travel restrictions and mandatory quarantine, the Auckland and Shenzhen tournaments will not be held in 2021, but are scheduled to return to the WTA Tour calendar in 2022. In the coming weeks, the WTA will make an announcement expanding the schedule.