With less than a month to go until the Australian Open, tournament director Craig Tiley has revealed more details about the measures that the Australian Open will adopt with the tennis players who come to Melbourne to play the first Grand Slam of the season.
Among the novelties revealed by Tiley and collected by the Australian newspaper The Age, it stands out that tennis players who attend the Australian Open must be vaccinated or, failing that, have a medical exemption certificate, something that until now had been little commented on. “The most important thing is that everyone who comes to Australia is vaccinated. Everyone who comes is vaccinated and there is a small percentage, a very small percentage of tennis players who have a medical exemption. So if a player, fan or worker is here, it is because they are vaccinated or have a medical exemption that has been approved and you are on the Australian immunization registry. That gives us more security and an extra level of comfort. “
Tiley’s message is directed at tennis players like Novak Djokovic, who has yet to reveal his vaccination status. “If Novak comes to the Australian Open, he must be vaccinated or have a medical exemption certificate. It is his choice about his medical condition and maintaining his privacy. We are not going to force him or ask him to reveal it.” Tiley also assured that ‘Nole’ wants to play the tournament, but acknowledges that tennis players like him could have difficulties throughout the season by not disclosing their status on vaccination. “Novak wants to play the Australian Open. We haven’t talked much about how he is doing. From a medical point of view, he hasn’t spoken to anyone and I won’t be the one asking him. It will be very difficult for a tennis player in 2022 to travel around the world and not have, in each country, a certificate of medical exemption or be vaccinated. But that depends on them. I don’t have to ask Djokovic about it, it’s not my problem. “
The Australian Open director also expects Rafa Nadal to play the tournament despite his recent positive for COVID-19. “The tennis players who are testing positive now, like the case of Rafa Nadal on Saturday, are now completing a time in which they will no longer infect anyone else, they will overcome the virus and they will be well again. Possibly, that you are positive now, It’s something good. Testing positive is never okay, but if you want to be in a position to want to play the Australian Open, the time to catch the virus would be now. “
Tiley also revealed that the Australian Open will take place normally in the stands, although he assured that they will comply with the Australian government’s measures if they must control the capacity. “We have no information that the Australian government wants to put limits on the stands. We have a government approved COVID-19 safety plan. We will control the crowd according to the circumstances. It will be a safe place. And if we have to control the capacity, we will. At the moment there will be no restrictions and people will be able to move around the premises. “
Stosur, among the first guests to the Australian Open
This Wednesday the Australian Open has also revealed the first four invitations for the women’s team, including the name of Australian legend Samantha Stosur, who will play in the tournament for the twentieth time. Along with Stosur, Australians Storm Sanders, Maddison Inglis and Daria Saville have also received an invitation.