2021 Australian Open To Take Place At Melbourne Park From February 8-21

The 2021 Australian Open tennis tournament will be played at Melbourne Park from February 8-21. The tournament has been pushed from its traditional January start due to the coronavirus pandemic. Tennis Australia CEO and Australian Open director Craig Tiley said that are looking forward to providing players with one of their best playing experiences. 

"This will be be an historic Australian Open on so many levels. For the first time in more than 100 years Australian Open will start in February," Craig Tiley was quoted as saying by Australian Open's official Twitter handle.

"AO 2021 is going to be all about supporting local businesses...and celebrating everything that is great about our country, as well as providing opportunities to those who've been so hard hit during the pandemic, particularly in Melbourne and Victoria," Tiley added.

Men's qualifiers will be held in Doha but Australia will host a series of build-up events including the flagship ATP Cup, the men's ATP Tour said, announcing its early 2021 schedule.

Fans are expected to be allowed at Melbourne Park, the tournament's venue, as the coronavirus is under control in Australia, but players will need to undergo 14 days of quarantine.

Confirmation of the February 8-21 dates follows protracted talks between Tennis Australia and state authorities in Melbourne, which emerged from a months-long lockdown in October following a second wave of Covid-19.

Originally due to start on January 18, players will now arrive in Australia from January 15 to serve two weeks in a bio-secure bubble, many of them coming from countries where the pandemic is still raging.

The ATP said men's qualifiers for the Grand Slam would be held from January 10-13 in Doha, before players and limited support staff travel to Australia.

A slimmed-down, 12-team ATP Cup, the relocated Adelaide International, and an ATP 250 tournament will all be held in Melbourne ahead of the Slam which is now scheduled from February 8-21.

There was no word on where the women will play their qualifiers, with the WTA yet to announce its early-season schedule. But WTA tournaments are also expected to be played in Melbourne before the Open.