Tennis: WTA event in Abu Dhabi, Dubai to host Australian Open qualifiers

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Venus Williams plays a forehand return to Serena Williams during the 2018 Mubadala World Tennis Championship in Abu Dhabi. (AFP file)
Venus Williams plays a forehand return to Serena Williams during the 2018 Mubadala World Tennis Championship in Abu Dhabi. (AFP file)

London - The Australian Open qualifying will take place in Dubai from Jan. 10-13

By KT Report

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Published: Sat 19 Dec 2020, 1:34 PM

Last updated: Sat 19 Dec 2020, 1:46 PM

The WTA will kick off its 2021 season in Abu Dhabi from Jan. 5-13 and the Australian Open qualifying will take place in Dubai from Jan. 10-13.

But tournaments in Auckland and Shenzhen will not take place this year, tour organisers said on Saturday as they released their calendar for the first seven weeks of the season.


After the first-ever WTA event in Abu Dhabi and the qualifiers for the Australian Open in Dubai, players will then relocate to Melbourne to enter quarantine for two weeks ahead of the year’s first Grand Slam, which will begin on Feb. 8, three weeks later than scheduled.

The WTA event will be Abu Dhabi’s first official tennis tournament, having hosted the exhibition Mubadala World Tennis Championship for the past 12 years.


Due to the strict Covid-19 protocols, it will be the first time that the Australian Open qualifying rounds will be held outside the country. And it’s Dubai that has earned the right to stage the qualifying event.

Meanwhile, the WTA announced that WTA 500 tournaments will be held concurrently in Melbourne Park from Jan. 31-Feb. 7 to help players prepare for the first Grand Slam of the season.

A WTA 250 event will also be held in the second week of the Australian Open.

“We are excited to announce the first swing of tournaments representing the opening weeks of the 2021 WTA season, all of which will operate in an environment that puts health and safety at the forefront,” WTA Chairman Steve Simon said in a statement.

“We want to express our sincere appreciation for the cooperation between key tennis stakeholders and organizations, along with the local health authorities who have been vital in getting us to this point.

“The hard work will continue as we look further ahead into 2021 to ensure a safe and robust calendar.”

In 2020 the WTA had events in Shenzen and Auckland starting on Jan. 6 but those were scrapped for the 2021 season due to travel restrictions and mandatory quarantine. The two tournaments will return to the calendar in 2022.

Meanwhile, the start date of the main draw of the Australian Open was originally slated for Jan. 18 and organisers have been locked in drawn-out negotiations with local government over COVID-19 health security measures.

“This will be an historic Australian Open on so many levels,” tournament director Craig Tiley said in a statement.

“For the first time in more than 100 years the Australian Open will start in February and we look forward to offering the players what we believe will be one of their best playing experiences in 2021.”

The state of Victoria on Saturday recorded a 50th straight day without a case of community transmitted Covid-19 but many health restrictions remain in place in Melbourne and international travel into Australia is still strictly limited.

Victoria’s state government said that players would be tested for Covid-19 prior to departure for Australia and a minimum of five times during quarantine, during which they would be able to train for five hours a day.

“From the outset, ensuring players have the best possible preparation for the Australian Open, while at all times protecting the precious Covid-free environment that the Victorian community has built ... over the past six months, has been paramount,” Tiley added.

This year’s Wimbledon tournament was cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic, while the US and French Opens went ahead with the players confined to bio-secure ‘bubbles’, unable to leave their hotel rooms except to train and play.

Sports fans in the UAE could not have hoped for a better news as the WTA, the governing body for women’s international tennis, has announced that its new season will start in Abu Dhabi next month with the Capital’s first-ever official tennis tournament.

Meanwhile, the WTA has also announced that the women’s qualifying rounds for the Australian Open will be held in Dubai.

Due to the strict quarantine rules in Australia in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, the Open organisers will not be able to stage the qualifying rounds in their own country.

And Dubai, which has proved itself as one of the best tennis destinations with their award-winning Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships drawing the world’s best players every year, earned the right to stage the qualifying event for the first Grand Slam of 2021.

The women’s tennis season will kick off with the new tournament -- Abu Dhabi WTA Women’s Tennis Open -- at the Zayed Sports City International Tennis Centre in Abu Dhabi (January 5-10) and the WTA qualifiers for the Australian Open will be held in Dubai from January 10-13, WTA said on their official website on Saturday.

Aref Al Awani, General Secretary of Abu Dhabi Sports Council, said the new tournament will strengthen Abu Dhabi’s position as one of the world’s biggest sporting destinations.

“We are delighted to welcome to Abu Dhabi WTA’s 2021 kick-off event, the Abu Dhabi WTA Women’s Tennis Open,” Al Awani was quoted as saying by WTA on their official website.

“Abu Dhabi is a global capital of world sport and the presence of top tennis players from around the world at this time only strengthens that position and reinforces our esteemed reputation.”

Steve Simon, WTA Chairman and CEO, said their top priority was health and safety while picking the venues for the season opener and the Australian Open qualifiers.

“We are excited to announce the first swing of tournaments representing the opening weeks of the 2021 WTA season, all of which will operate in an environment that puts health and safety at the forefront,” Simon said of the two events in Abu Dhabi and Dubai.

“We want to express our sincere appreciation for the cooperation between key tennis stakeholders and organisations, along with the local health authorities who have been vital in getting us to this point. The hard work will continue as we look further ahead into 2021 to ensure a safe and robust calendar.”

After the first-ever WTA event in Abu Dhabi and the qualifiers for the Australian Open in Dubai, players will then relocate to Melbourne to enter quarantine for two weeks ahead of the year’s first Grand Slam, which will begin on Feb. 8, three weeks later than scheduled.

The Abu Dhabi WTA Women’s Tennis Open will be the Capital’s first official tennis tournament, having hosted the star-studded exhibition Mubadala World Tennis Championship for the past 12 years.

Meanwhile, the WTA announced that WTA 500 tournaments will be held concurrently in Melbourne Park from Jan. 31-Feb. 7 to help players prepare for the first Grand Slam of the season.

A WTA 250 event will also be held in the second week of the Australian Open.

In 2020, the WTA had events in Shenzen and Auckland starting on Jan. 6, but those were scrapped for the 2021 season due to travel restrictions and mandatory quarantine. The two tournaments will return to the calendar in 2022.

Meanwhile, the start date of the main draw of the Australian Open was originally slated for January 18 and organisers, who had been locked in drawn-out negotiations with local government over Covid-19 health security measures, finally announced that the Grand Slam event would start on February 8.

“This will be a historic Australian Open on so many levels,” tournament director Craig Tiley said in a statement.

“For the first time in more than 100 years the Australian Open will start in February and we look forward to offering the players what we believe will be one of their best playing experiences in 2021.”

The state of Victoria on Saturday recorded a 50th straight day without a case of community transmitted Covid-19 but many health restrictions remain in place in Melbourne and international travel into Australia is still strictly limited.

Victoria’s state government said that players would be tested for Covid-19 prior to departure for Australia and a minimum of five times during quarantine, during which they would be able to train for five hours a day.

“From the outset, ensuring players have the best possible preparation for the Australian Open, while at all times protecting the precious Covid-free environment that the Victorian community has built ... over the past six months, has been paramount,” Tiley added.

This year’s Wimbledon tournament was cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic, while the US and French Opens went ahead with the players confined to bio-secure ‘bubbles’, unable to leave their hotel rooms except to train and play. (With inputs from Reuters)


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