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Australian Open qualifiers to be played on different continent, claim reports


The Australian Open may hold their qualifying rounds on an entirely different continent, according to reports.

Tennis Australia is currently locked in talks with the government in Victoria to find a way to host the Grand Slam in relative normality while also adhering to the coronavirus controls in Melbourne.

It is appearing increasingly likely that the event will be pushed back, possibly by as much as two weeks to a February 1 start date.

Players will not be permitted to arrive in December as usual, though, and will be required to quarantine for 14 days immediately after they land in the country.

They will be allowed to practice during those two weeks, but the timing has thrown warm-up tournaments and qualifying into doubt.

One potential solution that has been considered is the move Australian Open qualifiers to Asia, with Dubai, Doha, or Singapore, according to Spanish newspaper Marca.

That way, only those who have qualified would be able to travel on to Australia, minimising the risk to Melbourne.


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Michael Graham, Tennishead.net Editor, has been a professional sports journalist for his whole career and is especially passionate about tennis. He's been the Editor of Tennishead.net for over 5 years and loves watching live tennis by visiting as many tournaments as possible. Michael specialises in writing in-depth features about the ATP & WTA tours.