The WTA will start their 2021 season in Abu Dhabi from January 5-13 but tournaments in Auckland and Shenzhen will not be held this year, tour organizers said Saturday as they release their calendar for the first seven weeks of the season.
The Australian Open will be held in Dubai from January 10-13.
Players will then move to Melbourne to enter quarantine for two weeks ahead of the Australian Open, which starts on February 8, three weeks later.
Following the quarantine period, two WTA 500 tournaments will be held simultaneously in Melbourne Park from January 31-February 7 to help players prepare for the first Grand Slam of the season.
The WTA 250 event will also take place in the second week of the Australian Open.
LOVE ATP announces schedule, Open Australia to start on February 8th
“We are delighted to announce the first series of competitions representing the opening weeks of the WTA 2021 season, all of which will operate in an environment that puts health and safety at the forefront,” said WTA chairman Steve Simon. the recitation.
“We want to express our sincere thanks for the co-operation between key tennis stakeholders and organizations, as well as the local health authorities that have been instrumental in getting us to this point. The hard work will continue as we look further into 2021 to ensure a safe and robust calendar. ”
In 2020 the WTA had events in Shenzen and Auckland starting on January 6 but those were broken for the 2021 season due to mandatory travel restrictions and quarantines. Both competitions will return to the calendar in 2022.