Australian Open will start on Monday, tournament director Craig Tiley says

The tennis major will proceed as scheduled, pending a clean bill of health from those tested, tournament chief says.

Australian Open tournament director Craig Tiley. Picture: AAP

Tennis Australia chief executive Craig Tiley said the Australian Open will proceed as scheduled on Monday provided those undergoing testing receive a clean bill of health.

He said of the 507 currently in isolation after being tested for COVID-19, 160 of them are players. Testing is expected to be concluded by 5pm.

But he said medical authorities said the probability of any testing positive was negligible.

“We are absolutely confident that the Australian Open is going to go ahead,” he said.

“The probability is very low that there is going to be an issue.”

A decision has been made to postpone the draw for the Australian Open, which was scheduled for 6pm, until Friday.

The Australian Open tournament director is also confident that despite the current situation, and the predictions of inclement weather on Friday, the six tournaments currently underway will also be completed.

“This does give us three days for the lead in events to complete,” he said.

“The intention is to start the Australian Open again on Monday. There is no intention of changing the time for the Australian Open.

“There will be many things on what have to be looked at and we will take the advice of health.

“A lot will depend on the results of the tests tonight and of course today, but the probability is low. We are planning (to be) running at full steam ahead.”

The schedule for Friday is expected to be released at 6pm, depending on those associated receiving a clean bill of health.

Players told to isolate

The COVID-19 testing of hundreds of Australian Open players and officials ordered to isolate after a scare at the Grand Hyatt is underway in Melbourne.

The lead-up tournaments at Melbourne Park for the Australian Open have been postponed as up to 600 players, officials and support staff are told to get tested and self-isolate after a worker at a hotel tested positive for coronavirus.

The new measures affect those who quarantined at the Grand Hyatt and who are considered casual contacts of the security officer.

Testing began in hourly windows, based on an alphabetical order, for those who were staying at the hotel from 9am on Thursday and will proceed until early in the afternoon.

Tennis Australia made the decision to postpone the 62 matches scheduled for the day in the six events running concurrently at Melbourne Park in the lead in to the Australian Open.

Should players and officials receive clear results, play will resume on Friday, though there are complications in what is a compressed time frame.

Deputy Chief Health Officer Allen Cheng said the risk to hundreds of Australia Open players and their staff is low.

He said the last case at the hotel was on February 22 and the players and staffers were being asked to isolate “just to be sure”.

“We think the risk to other guests, the tennis players and accompanying staff is relatively low because they were in the room at the time,” he said.

Hotel Quarantine Minister Lisa Neville said the players were being isolated where they were and would be taken to testing sites.

Heavy rain and thunderstorms are predicted for Friday, which would wreak further havoc for tournament officials and players to negotiate.

The five ATP and WTA Tour events are only at the Rd of 16 stage, which means players could potentially have to play four singles matches by Sunday in order to win the title.

The ATP Cup still has a day to play in the round-robin phase of the event. The final was due to be played on Saturday night, so there is a window on Sunday that could be used.

It is being played on Rod Laver Arena and John Cain Arena, so any rain on Friday will not be an issue for the event, provided participants receive a clean bill of health.