A major warm-up tournament for the Australian Open was on Tuesday canceled, with organizers blaming uncertainty over COVID-19 rules that players would face in Melbourne.
It is the second year that the Kooyong Classic, normally played in the weeks leading up to the season-opening Grand Slam, has been scrapped because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Kooyong president Adam Cossar said he was disappointed that the event could not take place in January next year, but hoped it would return the following year.
Photo: Reuters
Players are still awaiting clarification on whether they need to be fully vaccinated to participate at the Australian Open, also in Melbourne, and other tennis tournaments in the country.
Such a requirement would cast doubt on nine-time Australian Open champion Novak Djokovic’s ability to defend his title — he is one of many players who have refused to share their vaccination status.
A leaked WTA e-mail this week recommended that unvaccinated players could take part provided that they completed 14 days in hotel quarantine.
However, players with two doses of a COVID-19 vaccine would enjoy “complete freedom of movement.”
However, Victoria Premier Daniel Andrews — the state where the Grand Slam is held — said that he wanted all players to be fully vaccinated.
EMMA RADUCANU
Emma Raducanu has said that people need to be patient as the 18-year-old looks to establish herself on the WTA Tour after her fairytale US Open triumph last month.
While Raducanu stunned the sporting world when she won the Flushing Meadows title as a qualifier, she was knocked out in the second round at Indian Wells and is still without a coach.
Yesterday, Raducanu was to face Slovenia’s Polona Hercog in her opening match of the Transylvania Open in Romania and said it was important to temper expectations.
“I feel like everyone should just be a little patient with me,” Raducanu told reporters on Monday.
“I am going to find my tennis; I just need a little bit of time. Things have happened rather fast, I am learning a lot,” she added.
“I just need to be patient with myself, not expect too much,” she said. “I am learning to accept it is not so smooth. In the long term, I know it will be up and down.”
COURMAYEUR LADIES OPEN
On Monday in Courmayeur, Italy, Aliona Bolsova Zadoinov of Spain defeated Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei 6-1, 6-7 (2), 6-4 in 2 hours, 13 minutes to advance to the round of 16.
Additional reporting by staff writer and Reuters
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