OUR TENNIS JEWEL GONE

TASMANIA’S premiere tennis tournament, the Hobart International, has been lost to Melbourne because of COVID- 19 restrictions.

The tournament, which has become a key Australian Open lead- in event for the top women tennis players, will now be played in Victoria. Big tournaments usually held in Sydney, Brisbane, Perth, Adelaide and Canberra will also be played in Melbourne.

HOBART has lost its international tennis tournament for 2021 with all pre- Australian Open tournaments to be moved to Victoria.

In a massive blow to the Tasmanian sporting calendar, Tennis Australia said the decision was a result of the inconsistent COVID- 19 quarantine arrangements between states.

The showpieces previously scheduled to be held in Sydney, Brisbane, Perth, Adelaide, Canberra and Hobart will take place in Victoria to ensure the world’s best players are in Melbourne for the Open.

“It’s not the fault of anyone, but each state had a bit of a different approach to it so it was hard to have some consistency,” said Australian Open tournament director Craig Tiley.

“The biggest thing outside of that was our fear or concern that we still have borders that are closed. In Melbourne we still can’t go to Brisbane and while the governments say they will open, it doesn’t mean they won’t close them again … So we made the decision to contract everything in Melbourne, redesign the lead in events to the Australian Open.”

The Tasmanian government has been informed of Tennis Australia’s decision.

In another shake- up, international players previously expected to fly into other Australian capitals to quarantine will now travel directly to Melbourne and enter a two- week “bubble”.

Players, expected to arrive in Melbourne in mid- December and stay until February, will be allowed to play and train but be restricted to hotels or the tennis court until they have completed quarantine.