Australian Open confirms postponement of junior events

The Australian Open has confirmed that the 2021 Australian Open Junior Championships will be postponed and rescheduled for later in the year.

“Due to the ongoing challenges created by the pandemic and the current travel restrictions into Australia, the AO Junior Championships will be postponed until later in 2021,” Australian Open Tournament Director Craig Tiley said.

“This has not been an easy decision to make as we enjoy welcoming the world’s elite juniors to Melbourne Park each year. We will continue to work alongside the ITF on a new date in the calendar and look forward to providing further updates soon.”

ITF World Tennis Tour junior tournaments are scheduled to return to Australia in April, with a swing of tournaments to be played in Victoria including the Gallipoli Cup.

The ITF are currently reviewing all possible measures for 2021 in order to provide the most robust ITF World Tennis Tour Juniors calendar possible and a safe environment to play.

With regard to the Australian Open wheelchair event, the ITF is working closely with Tennis Australia concerning all the UNIQLO Wheelchair Tennis Tour events scheduled to be played in Australia at the beginning of the 2021 season.

Tiley has informed all wheelchair tennis players that the Victorian Government has indicated that the quarantine period for international visitors cannot begin in December. Tennis Australia is currently in discussions with the government to enable international players to quarantine during the first two weeks of January before playing lead-in events and the Australian Open.