The Australian Open confirms dates, audience and awards

After the announcement of the ATP it was already public, but The Australian Open organization has announced this Saturday, officially after eight months of intense negotiations with the state government, that the competition will start on February 8 and, among other measures, that the junior draw will not take place until the end of January, that the public capacity will be 50% complete or that the prizes for the first eliminated will increase.

The young promising juniors who were called to complete the male and female tables have been the main victims of the negotiations between representatives of the tournament and members of the state government, since they will not have the opportunity to play in Melbourne simultaneously with their main idols. Craig Tiley, director of the tournament, did not influence the matter in the statement issued on the website of the 'Australian major' and simply guaranteed its course in the last stretch of the 2021 financial year.

“We have needed eight months of intense negotiations with government authorities, both state and international, to have the opportunity to present a very important Australian Open economically and psychologically for Melbourne and Victoria”, Tiley qualified. Yes, wheelchair competitions will be held, which will accompany the singles and doubles modalities in the male and female categories.

The players They will land in Melbourne on January 15 and undergo a two-week quarantine in which they will only be able to leave the accommodation for five hours a day to train. As the ATP itself announced with the publication of the calendar for the first weeks of the tennis year, the preliminary phase will be played in Doha (Qatar) from January 10 to 13.

The starting gun in Melbourne Park will take place this year on January 31 with the dispute of two 250 category tournaments that will be held in parallel until January 6. The day before the finals of these two tournaments will start the ATP Cup, whose participation has been reduced from 24 to 12 teams, where Novak Djokovic's Serbia (1) will try to defend the crown harvested in the first edition after beating Spain led by Rafael Nadal (2) in the final.

The main attraction of the Australian season, the Australian Open, It will begin on the 8th and will run until February 21st. Tiley also confirmed that the prize money set in the previous edition will be maintained, $ 71 million, although the winnings will be increased for those players who fall, both in the previous phase and in the first rounds of the final draw. For example, those eliminated in the first round will receive $ 100,000, 15% more than last year.

The official statement also revealed that the first 'slam' of the season will feature the presence of a 50% of the public in the stands and who will put the tickets on sale starting this Wednesday.