Adelaide will host world’s best before Australian Open

An exhibition featuring some of the world’s top-ranked players will be held in Adelaide ahead of the delayed summer of tennis in Melbourne.

Eight-time Australian Open champion Novak Djokovic could be among the stars to play an exhibition in Adelaide prior to the delayed start to the tour swing in Melbourne. (Picture: Getty Images.

An exhibition featuring some of the world’s best players is being planned for Adelaide on the eve of a delayed Australian summer of tennis.

But Tennis Australia officials remain concerned about the potential for the pandemic to interrupt plans after Brisbane became the latest city to be listed as a COVID-19 hotspot on Friday.

Sudden shifts in regulations continue to pose problems for sports in Australia and tennis, which moved the summer down under by a month, remains vulnerable to developments.

World No 1 Ash Barty had been scheduled to discuss her preparation for the Australian summer in the Queensland capital on Friday.

But a three-day lockdown in the south-east of the state caused the event to be postponed.

Despite the caution, TA chief executive Craig Tiley remains optimistic events will be played outside of Melbourne this summer to start and finish the tour swing.

The Australian Open tournament director raised the prospect of an exhibition being held in Adelaide in the lead-in to the month of tennis beginning February 1.

South Australian premier Steven Marshall described it as “massive win” the state, with the prospect Australian Open king Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal could be among those participating.

“We will have some of the top seeds playing right here ahead of the Australian Open,” Marshall said.

Memorial Drive, which was redeveloped ahead of the Adelaide International in 2020, will host an event featuring six of the world’s top-ranked men and women prior to the five tournaments being held in Melbourne in the first week of February.

It is understood South Australia will also host up to 50 of the 1100 players, coaches and physiotherapists travelling to Australia to quarantine.

“We approached the South Australian government about the possibility of them quarantining at least 50 people. But they wouldn’t have any interest in doing it, because there’s no benefit to them to put their whole community at risk,” Tiley told The Tennis Channel on Friday.

“But it would be a benefit if there was an exhibition just before Melbourne. So we chose the top three men and the top three women and they’ll play an exhibition on the 29th and 30th of January.

“The conditions of the quarantine will be the same. They’ll be in a different hotel and a smaller cohort and travel direct to Adelaide. We think this is a great opportunity to actually launch before we go into the season.”

In the interview, Tiley flagged the possibility of attendances in Melbourne lifting to 75 per cent capacity should the COVID-19 situation be sound in February.

As revealed by The Weekend Australian in December, an additional WTA Tour event will be held in the country in the week following the first grand slam of 2021 to round out February.

Confirmation as to which state will host the tournament _ a 500-tier event _ is yet to occur, though Tiley said last month TA was keen to explore options outside of Victoria.

The decision by the Queensland Government to introduce a short lockdown follows similar decisions in New South Wales and South Australia over the past month.

It underscores the initial move to host all lead-in events to the Australian Open in Melbourne.

TA was concerned any scares similar to the current situation in Brisbane would leave a significant number of players stranded outside of Victoria for the Australian Open.

“How could we guarantee the borders were not going to be shut?” Tiley said.

“It was not a decision we took lightly, because part of the essence of our sport is in each city, but this is the only facility in Australia that can host the grand slam.”

A semi-finalist in the 2020 Australian Open, Barty had been planning to continue her preparations in Brisbane until the eve of her return to the circuit after an absence of almost 12 months.

This is due to Melbourne Park being inaccessible for local talent in the latter stages of January due to quarantine protocols for international players arriving in Australia.

Those players will practice and train at Melbourne Park or Albert Park during a five hour window daily while in hotel quarantine.

Instead Australian players based in Victoria will train at either Kooyong or on courts at a nearby Melbourne private school in the fortnight prior to tournaments beginning.

The 2019 Roland Garros champion and other players based outside of Victoria will continue to monitor developments in the pandemic as they look towards February.

Qualifying for the Australian Open will begin this weekend in Dubai and Doha, with those successful in booking a main draw spot to join the travelling cohort from next Friday.

But some players have raised concerns about delays associated with testing protocols, complaining their preparation for the qualifying tournament has been compromised.