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The last edition of the Australian Open was won in the men's singles by the Serb Novak Djokovic and in the women's singles by the American revelation Sofia Kenin, who won respectively over Dominic Thiem and Garbine Muguruza.
Not too long after the conclusion of the tournament, the ATP and WTA Tours were promptly suspended due to the progressive spread of the Coronavirus pandemic in the world and only a few days ago, in Palermo, the women's tour was able to restart.
Craig Tiley, no.1 of the Melbourne Grand Slam, talked about the upcoming Australian Open.
Tiley on the 2021 edition: "No one will be forced to come"
In a new interview, Tiley said: “We will probably add some events before the Australian Open, we are already talking to them.
We want to support Auckland in any way possible and we are discussing precisely these possibilities. It would be very complicated if a player went to Auckland and had to quarantine there, then fly to Australia and do it there as well.
It's difficult.
We want to protect Doha and Auckland to have a successful event. I think it will be very complicated to be in different cities around the globe before a Grand Slam tournament. We need to talk to them about security, what has been done.
We do not force anyone to come, the choice is up to the players although we will ensure the best possible environment. If they get on the flight and come to us, we will ensure their safety. If, on the other hand, they feel safer at home, we will respect their decision." The Palermo Ladies Open, WTA International and first event after the long stop due to Covid-19 global emergency was won this year by Frenchwoman Fiona Ferro, who defeated Anett Kontaveit in the final in two sets.
Our Camila Giorgi stopped in the semifinals, overtaken by the future winner of the event with a score of 6-2 2-6 5-7. The WTA Tour continued this week with the appointments in Prague and Lexington, currently still underway.
As for the men's one, we will have to wait another seven days to finally see it start again: on 22 August will start the Westerns and Southern Open Masters 1000 of Cincinnati, this season at Flushing Meadows, in the New York bubble, won last year by the Russian Daniil Medvedev on David Goffin.