Australian Open set to start on February 8th

The Australian Open is set to start on February 8th according to media reports in Australia who have the end date on the 21st of February.

While the news is not yet official it is widely believed that all arrangements have been made for the event to run from the 8th of February till the 21st. State officials have confirmed earlier that players will need to undergo quarantine upon arriving in Australia. According to reports widely carried in the Australian media, Tennis Australia Chief Executive Craig Tiley confirmed in an email to players that authorities had agreed to allow players to train during two weeks of strict quarantine.

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“It’s taken a while, but the great news is it looks like we are going to be able to hold the AO on Feb. 8,” the reports quoted Tiley as saying. The report quotes Tiley on explaining furthermore:

“Players will have to quarantine for two weeks from 15 January, but the Victorian Government has agreed to special conditions for AO participants - agreeing that they need to be able to prepare for a grand slam. There will be strict conditions, but after quarantine, players are free to stay where they want, go where they want, play lead-in matches and then compete in an AO in front of significant crowds in a great Melbourne atmosphere for the first time in many months.”

Once again though this is not an official statemenet from Tennis Australia many of the countries credible media have reported this development as an official one albeit lacking a confirmation.