Lockdown Cup added to AO calendar

An extra WTA event for players serving the 14-day hard lockdowns in Melbourne is to be added to the calendar ahead of the Australian Open start on February 8.

The new tournament will run alongside two WTA 500 events, two men’s ATP 250 tournaments and the men’s ATP Cup.

It is likely to be scheduled for a February 2 start and run until a day before the Open begins on February 8.

A total of 72 players are in hard lockdown after three chartered flights for players to the Australia returned positive COVID-19 cases.

Affected players include former Australian Open champions Victoria Azarenka and Angelique Kerber and 2019 US Open winner Bianca Andreescu.

Confined to their rooms and unable to train, the new event has been seen as an olive branch to those confined players.

Peter Rowe

Recent Posts

Davis Cup Final to mark Nadal goodbye to tennis

Rafael Nadal will bring down the curtain on his career next month as he plays his…

3 weeks ago

Wimbledon lowers the boom on human linecalling

Wimbledon on Wednesday brought an end to human linecalling at the most traditional of the…

3 weeks ago

Djokovic rolls Cobolli as Shanghai fights to restore order

Novak Djokovic returned to action after waiting tow days to play as the rain-hit Shanghai…

4 weeks ago

Innocent umpiring error screws Stan in Shanghai

Stan Wawrinka may have been inadvertently short-changed during Monday's third-round loss at the Shanghai Masters…

4 weeks ago

Sinner sweeps Fritz to win US Open

Jannik Sinner schooled Taylor Fritz 6-3, 6-4, 7-6 to win his second Grand Slam title…

2 months ago

Sabalenka wins Open title for Grand Slam hat-trick

Aryana Sabalenka completed a Grand Slam title hat-trick on Saturday as she fought from 5-3…

2 months ago