Australian Open start delayed to Feb. 8 due to pandemic

As had been expected throughout the fall, it appears the start of the 2021 Australian Open will be delayed because of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

According to reports from the Australian Associated Press (h/t ESPN), The Age, and Tennis.com, the beginning of next year's first grand slam will be postponed by three weeks and is slated for Feb. 8. 

This, per a memo sent to players by Tennis Australia CEO Craig Tiley that was obtained by sources, will allow participants to arrive in Melbourne between Jan. 15-17 and return negative coronavirus test results before they commence training. Tennis Australia will charter flights for players and coaches, and mandatory 14-day quarantines will begin only once individuals arrive at the bubble site.

"A Feb. 1 start date would not have allowed any matches [health authorities ruled out matches in the bubble] and also would have been unfair to players who may get infected during quarantine – as it would've ruled them out of the AO," Tiley explained in the note. Delaying to Feb. 8 theoretically allows anybody who initially tests positive to quarantine, recover, and then test negative before attempting to play.

"Unlike every other tennis tournament that the men's and women's tours will play this year, only the Australian Open is a tennis tournament in a city where it can likely be assumed that those players will bring the virus here," Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews said on Wednesday morning when speaking about players potentially infecting local citizens and guests. 

"Just think about that for a moment – every other grand slam [is happening where] cases are running wild. Every other tournament – certainly those in the United States which is I think the lion's share of the tournaments – cases are running wild.

"So we are unique in that we've built something that no one else has built across the nation ... and on that basis, we have to safeguard that, [and] I think we can."

As Isaac Yee noted for CNN, the Australian state of Victoria recently celebrated its 30th straight day without the discovery of a new COVID-19 case.