Three things we learnt in the first week of the Australian Open.
It has been an Australian Open like no other, and we are only halfway through. Played in the middle of the coronavirus pandemic, in a country with virtually no community transmission of the virus thanks to a strict zero-Covid strategy, the year’s first tennis major was never going to be an easy ride. ALSO ON FORBES: Serena Williams, Novak Djokovic Consulted About 33% Price Money Cut For Australian Open Winners Often dubbed the “Happy Slam” by players, media and fans alike for its laid-back atmosphere, enthusiastic crowds and sunny weather, the Melbourne-based tournament has been dubbed the “Nervous Slam” by some this year. Still, the tennis has been sparkling, particularly in the women’s draw, which has seen some compelling matches between the top players in the world at the weekend. Here’s what we learnt from the first week: Zero-Covid strategy Although the Australian Open is the third tennis major played in the pandemic after the US Open and the French Open, it is the first Grand Slam event organized in a country with a zero-Covid approach. Thanks to a strategy aimed at eliminating the virus, which includes rigorous contact tracing,14-day hotel quarantines for anyone arriving from outside of the country and immediate lockdowns if there are infections, Australia has managed to keep the virus at bay. So far, the strategy has worked, with Australia reporting a total of 28,989 infections, and 909 deaths, according to the Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center. The US has more than 27 million cases, and 484,997 deaths. Understandably, Australian authorities and the Australian people would like to keep it that way. There is also a lot at stake for Melbourne, which came out of a grueling,111-day lockdown in October. But hosting a major sports event in a country with almost no community transmission has come with a huge number of challenges, and required meticulous months-long planning by Craig Tiley, chief executive of Tennis Australia and the Australian Open tournament director, and his 600-strong team. First, tournament organizers were forced to postpone their event by three weeks because of local Covid rules. Then came a huge logistical operation, which involved flying 1200 players, coaches, officials and some media into the country on planes chartered by Tennis Australia. Seventy-two players, including a number of major winners, ended up in « hard quarantine », with no practice time, after their flights included a passenger who had tested positive for the virus. A few days before the tournament started, a hotel worker at one of the quarantine hotels tested positive for the virus, which led to hundreds of players and tournament staff getting re-tested.
