Australian Open will probably take place as planned

“According to the current information, the weather forecast is good,” said Craig Tiley, president of the organizing Australian Tennis Association on Tuesday: “We do not expect any delays and we have taken additional measures to ensure that the Australian Open can go ahead as planned.” The Qualifications for the tournament taking place in Melbourne begin next Monday, with the main rounds starting on January 20th (until February 2nd).

Most recently, tennis star Novak Djokovic asked the organizers to consider a postponement as a “last option” if necessary if the conditions would endanger the health of the players. Djokovic is president of the players' council. So far, 25 people have died in the fires that have been ravaging Australia for weeks.

No danger Tiley emphasized that people in Melbourne were not at risk. “The nearest fires are several hundred kilometers away from the city,” he said, emphasizing that the health and safety of players, spectators and helpers was a priority.

Additional resources are being deployed to monitor the situation. “There will be experts at the facility monitoring the weather and air quality and analyzing all available live data in real time,” Tiley said. Possible dangers from toxic smoke would be treated in the same way as exceptional heat or rain. For example, referees could interrupt matches if it was too dangerous to continue playing.

The facility also has three covered stadiums and eight indoor pitches. “In the unlikely event of extreme smoke, the roofs will be closed and play will continue in the air-conditioned and air-filtered environment,” the organizers said. If smoke actually penetrates the stadiums, the air conditioning would filter it out.

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Australian Open will probably take place as planned

Despite the devastating bushfires, the organizers of the Australian Open have ruled out postponing the first Grand Slam tournament of the year as things currently stand.

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