Countdown to Australia tour with friendly protocol

The bulk of the world tennis circuit begins its transfer to Australia this Sunday, where the 2022 season will start with a more friendly and flexible COVID protocol than that of 2021. The organization of the ocean tour will charter 20 charter flights from Buenos Aires, Santiago, Los Angeles, Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Tokyo in which the players who plan to participate in one of the five ATP tournaments and as many WTAs in Adelaide will travel. , Sydney and Melbourne, that will begin on January 1 before the first Grand Slam of the year (17 to 30). The rest can go on regular flights.

The big question is what Djokovic and Nadal, affected differently by the pandemic, will do. In the case of the Serbian, because of his suspicion about vaccination and in the case of the Spanish, because he is isolated because he contracted the disease in the exhibition in which he participated last week in Abu Dhabi. Djokovic could try to qualify for one of the medical exemptions allowed as an alternative to vaccines, which include inflammatory heart diseases (myocarditis, pericarditis …), acute or insufficiency, acute rheumatic fever, serious medical conditions, infection confirmed by PCR or any adverse event attributed to a previous administration, as well as the risk for people with developmental or mental health disorders.

Waiver requests will first be reviewed by a government panel comprised of physicians from the fields of immunology, infectious diseases, and general practice. They will then pass the judgment of another independent group of experts. And the privacy of applicants will be respected. The fact is that only those who meet any of these requirements or are vaccinated will be able to participate in the tour.

Freedom of movement

Apart from the paperwork and the necessary PCR tests to enter the country, the tennis players will undergo another test upon arrival and will not leave the official hotels until they have a negative result. Then they can stay or stay in one of their choice. The tests will be repeated every 5 or 7 days and the positive ones will have to spend 10 days in isolation, not their contacts if they are not infected. The mask will be mandatory in all Melbourne Park and there will be no movement restrictions in cities, although caution is advised.