Barty returns to action
World No.1 is back after 11-month hiatus
World No.1 Ash Barty will return to competitive tennis after a lengthy hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic when she headlines two WTA tournaments in Melbourne ahead of the Australian Open, organizers said.
The 24-year-old Queenslander has not played a match since February, opting not to defend her French Open title and also skipping the US Open in New York as the novel coronavirus wreaked havoc on global sport.
The pandemic is still affecting the tennis calendar, with the year’s first Grand Slam at Melbourne Park to start on February 8, three weeks later than planned.
Barty, who held on to the top women’s singles ranking during last year’s disrupted season, will play for the first time in 11 months at one of two WTA 500 events from Jan. 31-Feb. 6 as part of the Melbourne Summer Series.
The Gippsland Trophy and Yarra Valley Classic, named after regions in the state of Victoria, will include 49 of the top 50 women players.
The top 32 players will be split across the two events, with each featuring 64-singles and 32-doubles draws.
American Serena Williams, 39, will also return to competitive action after exiting the French Open with an injury and would hope to get some matches under her belt before embarking on her bid for a recordequaling 24th major title.
Players will start arriving Down Under from January 15 and undergo a mandatory 14-day quarantine before playing the warm-up events, which will be held at Melbourne Park.
Top men’s players like Australian Open champion Novak Djokovic and world No.2 Rafa Nadal will represent their countries in the 12-team ATP
Cup from February 1 to 5 with those unable ble to make the cut divided into to two ATP 250 tournaments.
The Great reat Ocean Road Open n and Murray River iver Open will feature playayers including ding Grand Slam am winner Stan an Wawrinka a and local hope Nick Kyrgios.
“While we know the circumstances mstances are unique e this year, it is a huge e coup to secure such ch strong playing fifififields,” fields,” Cameron Pearson, head of TA major events, said in a statement. Earlier this week, theWTA the WTA announced a provisional calendar for the women’s tour with events lined up until theWimbledon the Wimbledon championships in June- June-July. July. Apart from the three Grand Slams – Australian Open ( (starting starting February 8), French Open ( (May May 23) and Wimbledon ( (June June 28) – the fififirst first half of the year will have fourWTA four WTA 1000 events in Dubai and Miami (both in March) March), Ma Madrid (April) and Rome (May). Other WTA 500 events on the schedule include Doha and Saint Petersburg (March) and Charleston and Stuttgart (April).
The rebranded Fed Cup, no now known as the Billie Jean King Cup, is scheduled to start on April 12. However, there is no ne new date announced for the prestigiou prestigious BNP Paribas Open tennis tournament in IndianWells, Indian Wells, often called the ““fifth fifififth major” and usually held in March, which was postponed last week due to COVID- COVID-19 19 concerns. The 2020 edition of the tournament was the fifirst first major professiona professional sporting event in the US canceled in the wake of the pandemic, on the eve of its scheduled start.