Australian Open 2021

[Dinesh]

Magda Linette is also out of the main draw due to a knee injury. Ankita is now #4 in the alternates list. Hopefully, she’s on one of the chartered planes to Australia.

[sameerph]

Of course she is going to be one one of those flights as confirmed by AITA. But, she will I guess need 4 withdrawals before main draw starts.

I do not think anyone who flies does to Australia and get into a 14 day quarentine withdraw after that even if they are half fit.So, whoever withdraws in next couple of days before they get into Australia could be final.

[S_K_S]

There will still be some who catch it while travelling there. Might be asymptomatic to begin with but some will test positive while in quarantine.

[Tolamu]

There will still be some who catch it while travelling there. Might be asymptomatic to begin with but some will test positive while in quarantine.

Hopes so

[Dinesh]

I don’t want to hope for someone to get sick by this deadly virus for Ankita to play in her first slam main draw. As Sameer mentioned in one of his posts, she is in a good position to snatch a Q spot in the subsequent Melbourne WTA tournaments.

[Atithee]

We also have to hope that she herself doesn’t come down in wishing others to do so just to enable her entry. It’s called karma.

[Dinesh]

Ankita posted a story on Instagram showing her hotel room in Melbourne. Hope she gets to hit with some quality players during when they let them out for 5-hr practice.

[Dinesh]

The flight that came from LAX to Melbourne yesterday had 2 passengers testing positive on their PCR test after arrival. I think one of them is identified as the flight attendant and the other one is Lauren Davis’s coach Eddie Elliott. Apparently, notable players such as Azarenka, Stephens, Nishikori, Sandgren, BMS, Pospisil, Cuevas were on the same flight and have been emailed by TA to quarantine for 14 days (without the 5-hr practice window). Hope they get through this mess without having to delay the start of the tournament

[S_K_S]

Twitter accounts of players is full of reports of people having to quarantine for 14 days because someone on their flight has reported positive so they have had alerts to quarantine. No 5 hours a day of tennis for these people. Amazes me that they thought they could travel to Australia without this happening. Some, like Cornet, saying they were not told before. Apparently, she was told that only if someone in your section of 10 reported positive then only would you have to quarantine. Don't see why the need to play this tournament with so much risk. Also, amazes me to see the crowd scenes at the Gabba in the cricket. I know it's a different place but they really are behaving as if they are over Covid.

[S_K_S]

A valid Aussie response to the above is that they have worked hard made sacrifices to ensure Covid is not rampant in their country and thus they can attend places like the Gabba whereas most of the world has got it badly wrong.The arrival of the tennis players and their moaning about the rules would rightly irk me if I was an Australian.

[usaindia]

Divij in list of doubles

[Dinesh]

New update to the covid cases, now one person on the flight from Abu Dhabi also tested positive. Kerber, Kuznetsova, Marta Kostyuk, Cirstea were on this flight and asked by the TA to quarantine. I wonder if Ankita was on the same one (hope not).

[Dinesh]

TA has now asked all the players that flew to Melbourne to quarantine for 2 weeks, chances are they will be pushing the start of the tournament by a week at least. Doesn’t sound bad when you get free accommodation, food, and exercise equipment and a chance to take home $100,000 even for a R1 loss.

[PKBasu]

Purav/Ramkumar are in the list of doubles alternates. Will they get to travel to Australia and await their chances?

Leander doesn't seem to have received a wildcard...he should just partner one of the Aussies and try to get one.

[sameerph]

Purav/Ramkumar are in the list of doubles alternates. Will they get to travel to Australia and await their chances?

No, they won't. They are way out. So, no point in going there to go into a 14 day quarentine and not being able to play. Instead they are playing in challengers in Turkey.