Daily crowds of between 25,000 and 30,000 will be allowed to watch the Australian Open, organisers said Saturday in a big boost to the season's opening Grand Slam. Aggressive restrictions on incoming travel have helped keep the coronavirus largely at bay in Australia, making it one of the few places in the world where fans can still attend sports events in significant numbers. Victoria state's Sports Minister Martin Pakula said it equated to some 390,000 spectators across the two-week spectacle -- around half
Thousands of cheering fans packed the stands on Friday to watch some of tennis' biggest stars warm up for the Australian Open -- with hardly a face mask to be seen. In an unusual scene for the coronavirus pandemic, the 4,000 crowd sat cheek by jowl as big hitters including Rafael Nadal, Serena Williams and Naomi Osaka emerged from their 14-day quarantine to play exhibition matches ahead of the first grand slam of the year in Melbourne next month.The scene prompted joy on
Gearing up for Australian Open 2021, Rafael Nadal said he is not obsessed about breaking records but said he will is looking forward to adding to his Grand Slam tally, which stands at 20. World No. 2 Rafael Nadal has said he is not focussed on going behind records but maintained that it would be "amazing" to add to his Grand Slam tally in the new season. Nadal is tied with Federer as the two tennis greats have won 20 major titles each,
Australian Open tennis players have begun to leave hotel quarantine after completing their 14-day isolation, about a week before the event starts.By Sunday, about 500 players will have been released from hotels in Melbourne and Adelaide, organisers said. High-profile stars Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Serena Williams were among those allowed out on Friday. Players have quarantined because of the Australian government's Covid-19 rules for anyone entering the country. In early January, more than 1,700 players, staff and others tied to the Grand
Rafael Nadal said "we all try to help each other" amid Covid restrictions ahead of Australian Open, but some need "to make public everything they do to help others." Rafael Nadal has taken an apparent swipe at Novak Djokovic over his requests for quarantined players preparing for the Australian Open, saying not everyone felt the need to "advertise" how they were trying to help. The Serbian world number one issued a list of suggestions to Tennis Australia last week on behalf of 72
The ATP Cup debuted last year with 24 teams and was held across three cities in Australia Top-ranked Novak Djokovic and Rafa Nadal will start their 2021 seasons on Feb. 2 when they lead Serbia and Spain respectively in the team-based ATP Cup ahead of the Australian Open. The top two men’s players will be joined by world number three Dominic Thiem and Russian No. 4 Daniil Medvedev on the opening day of the tournament at Melbourne Park, which will also host the
Veteran table tennis player Mouma Das was among seven sportspersons awarded the prestigious Padma Shri by the Government of India on the eve of the country's 72nd Republic Day. Veteran table tennis player Mouma Das and the legendary PT Usha's coach Madhavan Nambiar were among seven sportspersons awarded the prestigious Padma Shri by the Government of India on the eve of the country's 72nd Republic Day. Besides Mouma and the great athletics coach, better known as OM Nambiar, former India women's basketball team captain P Anitha, long-distance runner
Leander Paes, 47, said he skipped the Australian Open as he is apprehensive of playing in a bio-bubble but is looking ahead to the French Open. Indian tennis icon Leander Paes on Monday said he is eyeing a French Open comeback this year in his quest to make a record eighth appearance at the Olympics in Tokyo. Paes, 47, said he skipped the Australian Open as he is apprehensive of playing in a bio-bubble but is looking ahead to the French Open. Playing sport in a bio-bubble is
Three more people linked to the Australian Open have tested positive for COVID-19 in Melbourne, increasing to 10 those associated with the Grand Slam tennis tournament which begins Feb. 8. Victoria state Emergency Services Minister Lisa Neville confirmed the new cases had been detected on Wednesday, adding that authorities are "very confident" one of the cases is a tennis player who is shedding the virus and is not infectious. The player is already in hard lockdown as they were on board a flight
BBC A Spanish tennis player who was among many Australian Open competitors to complain about quarantine rules has revealed she has coronavirus. Paula Badosa said she had felt unwell with symptoms before testing positive for the virus in Melbourne on Thursday. Badosa is believed to be the fourth competitor to test positive in hotel quarantine, but is the first to identify herself publicly. On Friday, she said "sorry guys", adding quarantine rules were "pivotal". "Please, don't get me wrong. Health will always comes
DOHA- Preparations are in top gear to host the 128 players and other officials who will be converging in Qatar for the 2021 Australian Open qualifiers to be held at the Khalifa International Tennis and Squash Complex in Doha from January 10 to 13. Ahead of the event, being held outside of Australia for the first time in its 116 years history, the venue has been transformed to feature a new appearance and looks splendidly radiant after completing the branding. The necessary makeovers have been done in readiness for the first Grand
Tennis is not an easy game; however, many tools can make it a bit less difficult. In this article, you will learn about a few training equipment that can help you in a game of tennis. Examples of such pieces of equipment are known to assist with several challenges while playing. Some of these challenges include things like volleys, grips, footwork, serves, and groundstrokes. It is not necessary to have all these devices, as they might not all contribute to helping you play
World number one Novak Djokovic cruised into the semi-finals of the ATP and WTA Western & Southern Open on Wednesday while Japan's Naomi Osaka withdrew to protest the shooting of a black man by police in Wisconsin. Djokovic, who launches his bid for a fourth US Open title and 18th Grand Slam crown on Monday, needed only 62 minutes to rout Germany's Jan-Lennard Struff 6-3, 6-1. The 33-year-old Serbian, who seeks a fourth US Open title and 18th Grand Slam crown, advanced to a Thursday semi-final against Spain's Roberto
Marie Bouzkova expected some adjustment to her first tennis tournament in nearly six months. First was the matter of shedding rust from the layoff caused by the coronavirus shutdown. The Czech Republic player also had to get her mind around the inaugural Top Seed Open and a significantly subdued competitive atmosphere without spectators and a sprinkling of officials around center court. “The beginning felt like practice because my coach was clapping at some point,” said Bouzkova, who quickly adapted to upset No. 3
Novak Djokovic’s stubborn stance to hold an exhibition tournament draws flak after four, including two players, get infected with Covid-19. Croatian tennis player Borna Coric confirmed he has tested positive for Covid-19 on Monday, a day after Grigor Dimitrov’s positive test led to the cancellation of the Adria Tour final in Zadar. Further announcements are expected as national news agencies have quoted the head of Zadar’s local crisis response team, Sime Vickovic, saying that four tennis players and two coaches tested positive. The
The ATP, in collaboration with the WTA, ITF, USTA and the FFT, has issued a revised provisional calendar that sets a pathway for the resumption of the Tour for the first time since the suspension of professional tennis in March due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The new-look ATP Tour calendar intends to resume on Friday 14 August with the Citi Open, the ATP 500 event in Washington, D.C., followed by the Western & Southern Open, the Cincinnati ATP Masters 1000 event, to be
After the 2020 Wimbledon was canceled, many people were worried that the US Open would suffer the same fate. The good news is that the tournament is going forward but with some new regulations. Check out the regulations for the US Open and the Cincinnati Masters that is going to be played before it. US Open Regulations The USTA first talked about the dates of the tournaments. The Cincinnati Masters will take place from August 22nd to 28th and the US Open will
World No.1 Novak Djokovic recently launched a new tournament – ‘Adria Tour’ to be played in the Balkan countries from June 13 to July 5. Along with Djokovic, Dominic Thiem, Alexander Zverev, Grigor Dimitrovand Marin Cilic will headline the exhibition tournament. After arriving in Belgrade, these players enjoyed some time off the court on the football field. The Adria tour team had donned in white jersey against their opposition in red. There bonding between the tennis star was clearly visible as they hurdle
The United States Tennis Association (USTA) is optimistic about organizing the US Open 2020 in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. The organizers are trying every possible to hold the event on the scheduled date. However, Novak Djokovicfeels that the restrictions imposed for the US Open 2020 might be extreme and unsustainable. Earlier, Djokovic explicated that it is impossible to put a cap on the support staff at the US Open 2020. He also described the rules as ‘extreme’. The Serb now revealed
In the turmoils of tennis tournaments getting annulled the clay-court major French Open 2020 have been rescheduled towards the end of September. By then playing conditions would relatively change when compared to the drizzly ambiance during the months of May and June. 1993 Roland Garros men’s doubles champion Luke Jensen believes those conditions will put World Number four Roger Federer on the losing edge. Also, the Parisian Major is set to new challenges with its revamped schedule. The crushed bricks of Paris are