By Tennis Now | Wednesday, December 16, 2020
The ATP announced an update to the 2021 Tour calendar confirming a February 8th start date for the Australian Open with AO men's qualifying set for Doha next month.
Photo credit: Mark Peterson/Corleve
The 2021 Australian Open will be a February feast.
The ATP announced an update to the 2021 Tour calendar confirming a February 8th start date for the Australian Open with AO men's qualifying set for Doha January 10-13th.
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Delray Beach is the launching pad for the 2021 ATP season.
The Delray Beach Open by VITACOST.com will start the season January 4-13th.
"The City of Delray Beach along with our tournament staff worked very quickly to take advantage of this chance to play host to a season-opening event,” said tournament director Mark Baron. “The players are eager to get back to playing in tournaments and we are happy to provide that opportunity. We look forward to welcoming them as well as our fans to a healthy and safely produced event in a few short weeks.”
The Australian Open men's qualifying is set for January 10-13th in Doha.
The allocated dates of January 15th-31st will then allow for travel and a 14-day quarantine period for all players and support staff travelling to Melbourne, in accordance with requirements of Australian public health and immigration authorities.
The ATP says "the controlled environment quarantine period will enable players to prepare ahead of a 12-team ATP Cup in Melbourne, played alongside the relocated Adelaide International, as well as an additional ATP 250 tournament, all held in Melbourne."
The Australian Open, the first Grand Slam of the season, will follow from February 8-21st.
The 2021 ATP Tour Calendar ATP 250 events confirmed as not taking place in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic include the ASB Classic (Auckland) and the New York Open, while the Tata Maharashtra Open (Pune) is unable to stage in its scheduled February week.
"The reconfigured calendar for the start of the 2021 season represents a huge collaborative effort across tennis, under challenging circumstances," ATP Chairman Andrea Gaudenzi said in a statement. "Together with the support of our tournament and player members, partners, and Tennis Australia, we have been able to adapt and create an exciting start to the season.
"Health and safety will continue to be paramount as we navigate the challenges ahead, and I want to thank everyone involved for their commitment to finding solutions to launch our 2021 season.”
The Rio Open presented by Claro, an ATP 500 event, will not take place as originally scheduled, and alternative dates in the calendar will be assessed for it to potentially take place later in the year.