Australian Open CEO confident event will go ahead despite threat of Omicron variant

Despite the emergence of the new Omicron variant of the Covid-19 virus, organizers of the 2022 Australian Open are confident that the first Grand Slam of the year will go on as scheduled.

CEO of Tennis Australia and Australian Open director Craig Tiley spoke on the matter, stating he was sure the tournament would proceed smoothly.

"We knew that when we announced the event there would be some more challenges just because of the nature of the world we have been living in for the last two years,” Tiley told the Sydney Morning Herald.

“There are a lot of unanswered questions around this and I think in the next 14 days we will get some more clarity. But at this point the plans are going ahead as they are.”

The Australian Open is set to kick off on January 17, 2022 and will allow fans at full capacity for the first time since 2020. Furthermore, the state of Victoria, where the Australian Open takes place, requires all players to be fully vaccinated in order to take part in the tournament.