MELBOURNE (Reuters) – Serena Williams and Naomi Osaka join Rafa Nadal and Novak Djokovic in playing a pre-Australian Open warm-up show in Adelaide after serving their quarantine in a city South Australia, Tennis Australia (TA) said on Saturday.
The “Day at the Way” event will take place at the city’s Memorial Tennis Center on January 29, a week before the delayed Grand Slam in Melbourne Park.
Australian Open director Steve Tiley had already announced that Ash Barty and Simona Halep would be among the eight players involved in the show with US Open champion Dominic Thiem now confirmed as the third.
Adelaide will also be hosting the WTA round 500 stage event, the Adelaide International, in the week following the Australian Open as TA looks to give players a chance to compete after playing travel Down Under and part for two weeks.
“Both of these competitions are a real trophy for South Australia,” Prime Minister Steven Marshall said in a press release.
“This is a real demonstration of support for South Australia’s management of the COVID-19 pandemic and strengthened our ability to attract world-class events.”
Other warm-up competitions, including a shorter version of the ATP Cup featuring Nadal, Djokovic and Thiem, will be held in Melbourne ahead of the Australian Open.
Hundreds of players and entrants will come to Australia from January 15 and undergo mandatory quarantine as part of the COVID-19 health protocols for the Asia-Pacific Grand Slam.
Players will be allowed five hours each day outside their hotel rooms to train through the forced loneliness.
Reporting by Nick Mulvenney, edited by Lincoln Feast.