WHEN the pandemic wreaked havoc across the globe, the Australian government had one of the world’s harshest lockdowns where a curfew was imposed from 8 pm to 6 am. Visiting friends or families outside of one’s household was forbidden and stiff fines were handed out to those who break them. People can’t travel outside of the five-kilometer bubble around their place of residence. In Sydney, thermal drones were flown at night monitoring households.
The result? Australia’s coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) death rate is around 1 in every 28,000 people. There were less than 1,000 fatalities. In comparison, the United States had more than 470,000 deaths, a rate of about 1 in every 860 people.
Restrictions were then lifted little by little. Australia is now having, as what authorities call, a “COVID-19-normal” summer. From virtual ghost towns, city restaurants, bars, and clubs now have more patrons. Concerts and music festivals were held and sports are back.
Tennis’ first major Grand Slam event, the Australian Open had begun in Melbourne. Before the start of the tournament, players, coaches, and everyone involved was forced to the country’s strict quarantine protocols – with complaints and anger from several players – and stayed in their hotel rooms for 14 days until they were medically cleared. They were, however, permitted to get out of their hotel rooms for five hours a day to train.
Players had converted their hotel rooms into makeshift practice gyms, with exercise bikes, resistance bands, exercise balls, and weights delivered. Some practiced their swings by hitting balls on their windows. Daily testing was done on the hallways outside their rooms. Upon completing the 14-day quarantine, players are then treated as ordinary citizens.
You might have noticed that there are no linespeople on the court but instead, electronic technology is used to determine if the ball is in or out. This is to minimize people on the court and do away with player challenges. Ball kids have reduced workloads as they were instructed not to get too close to the players. As a result, players will have to get their drinks and towels between points.
A maximum of 30,000 fans is allowed per day inside Melbourne Park, down by 50% compared to last year’s tournament. Digital tickets are issued to fans instead of traditional paper tickets to support contact tracing and the cashless transaction is the only way people can do purchases at the duration of the event.
Although the site still looks the same as in the previous years, fans are free to select which one of the three “zones” they want to be in for that day. The zones correspond to the three main arenas of Melbourne Park – the Rod Laver Arena, the Margaret Court Arena, and the John Cain Arena. Fans are to enter at the appointed entrance and cannot transfer between zones. Each zone has a selection of food, beverage, and entertainment options.
Last year’s Oz Open champs Novak Djokovic and Sofia Kenin each received AU$4.12 million. This year’s champs will “only” get AU$2.75 million. A first-round exit, however, will net a player AUS$100,000, as compared to last year’s AUS$89,000.
Except for players scheduled on the court, everyone’s wearing today’s unwanted but most important fashion statement at the Australian Open. Yes, it’s a different kind of Grand Slam tournament but at least the players are happy because they’re now playing with spectators present./PN
