Australian Open 2021: Tennis players begin to leave hotel quarantine after isolating period

Tennis players who are are billed to participate in this year’s Australian Open have begun to leave hotel quarantine after completing their 14-day isolation, about a week before the event starts.

Organizers said about 500 players will have completed their isolation timeline and would be released from hotels in Melbourne and Adelaide.

High-profile stars Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, and Serena Williams were among those allowed out on Friday.

The Australian government’s Covid-19 rules for anyone entering the country was the reason why players have been subjected to quarantine.

In early January, more than 1,700 players, staff, and others tied to the Grand Slam were flown into Australia on chartered flights.

The tournament will kick off officially on 8 February 2021.

The players, unlike other returning travelers who stay full-time in hotel rooms, were allowed out of their rooms for five hours a day to practice on court and exercise.

A group of 72 players was fully confined to their rooms in Melbourne after coronavirus cases were discovered on their flights.

So far, eight cases have been linked to the event including Spanish tennis player Paula Badosa.

The quarantine policy however had been met with criticism from several players who were concerned about how it would impact their preparation.

Tennys Sandgren and Oksana Kalashnikova of the US and Georgian contingent continued this criticism on Thursday, after saying they had learned their confinement would be extended by another day.

“It’s also another day we can’t practice,” Sandgren wrote on social media.

He said he would have only three days of practice outside the room before playing a competitive match.