Australian Open Tennis
The Australian Open is one of four Grand Slam tennis tournaments held every year. This year is fairly different due to the pandemic because seating has to be limited and precautions are required for players and fans. The Australian Open kicked off on February 7 with an allowance of 50% capacity for fans. Australia has not had much of an outbreak of COVID-19 due to their strict quarantine policy, which requires all people traveling to Australia to quarantine for 14 days.
The tennis players had to follow the country’s policies and were flown into Australia weeks before the tournament to prepare for unexpected exposure to the virus. There were a handful of players who were required to stay in their rooms for 14 days because people on their flight tested positive. In America, when someone tests positive on a plane nothing happens, but in Australia when someone tests positive everyone on the plane has to be quarantined for 14 days (or at least it is required by the Australian Open officials). This affected many players who were unable to practice for 14 days, and thus their performance was worse during the tournament because they had spent so much time away from training. It doesn’t seem fair to me for some players to be unable to perform at their best while others go into the tournament with more preparation, but at the same time there are rules and they must be followed. At least the tournament did not get cancelled like Wimbledon last year.
The tournament will continue until February 21, so you can watch it on TV or follow the event for the next 2 weeks. Have you been following the Australian Open? Do you love (or hate) tennis? Do you think the tournament handled the quarantine situation well?
https://www.espn.com/tennis/story/_/id/30864524/players-fans-get-reacquainted-2021-australian-open
Hey Yair, I have not been following the Australian Open, but I do think that it’s necessary for the exposed players to quarantine for 14 days. Although it unfair to those who aren’t able to practice 2 weeks prior to their tennis matches, it’s better than being the cause of a possible outbreak. Personally, I love playing tennis even though I’m not the best at it. Does the Australian Open seem different on tv this year? If so, how?
ReplyDeleteHi Yair, I have always been an occasional viewer of Grand Slam tournaments, and this year's Australian Open is no different. I wholeheartedly agree with Australia's extremely strict COVID guidelines, and I love that they don't make any exceptions, no matter how important or famous someone is. Although I agree with you that it is unfair for players who have to be locked in their rooms for 2 weeks, I still think it's necessary, for both the safety of the player and his trainers, opponents, etc. At the end of the day, all athletes in all sports have suffered the consequences of the coronavirus this year, and Australia not making any exceptions is a great tone-setter.
ReplyDeleteHi Yair, I love watching tennis because both my parents are tennis players. I watch all of the Grand Slams and it is always something that I look forward to. I think that they handled the situation well because the tournament as a whole was not affected. They has some quarantine issues prior to the start of matches, but after that, it proceeded as normal. As tennis is not a super fan oriented sport I don’t think it made as big of a difference as it does with other sports not having them. It is still probably weird for the players though.
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