Australian Open 2021: kittens and puppies in strange requests for tennis quarantine

Australian Open tournament director Craig Tiley has ruled out any changes to the formats for the 2021 edition. AP File Photo

Melbourne: Tennis players forced to 14 days of coronavirus The quarantine before the Australian Open made some strange requests to get over her ordeal, including requesting kittens and puppies in her bedrooms.

Tournament boss Craig Tiley spent months organizing to bring more than 1,000 players and support personnel safely into the country and revealed that some strange requests had added to the complicated logistics, without naming the players who made them.

“The strangest request was for a kitten in the lockdown room, and that wasn’t just one time, that was multiple times,” Tiley told the station. ABC.

“But then we explain that there is actually a correlation between coronavirus and kittens and that kind of request disappeared.

“Puppies. There were some (requests) from dogs, and someone was joking about bringing native Australian animals there as well.

“There were a few times when I wouldn’t mind putting a boxing kangaroo in there,” Tiley joked.

Players, coaches and officials arrived on 17 charter flights last month, and most were allowed out for just five hours of supervised daily training.

But eight positives COVID-19 The cases disrupted preparations with 72 players confined to their Melbourne hotel rooms 24 hours a day, prompting complaints about harsh conditions.

Tiley admitted that hosting the Grand Slam during a pandemic had put him under great pressure, but said the positives outweigh the negatives.

“Some people have accused us of being dumb about it, but we wouldn’t do it if it wasn’t safe, that’s for sure,” he said.

Tiley added that being able to showcase tennis and Melbourne to the world while welcoming fans to see it was “too great an opportunity to pass up.”

A daily crowd of between 25,000 and 30,000 spectators will be allowed to watch the Australian Open, which starts on February 8.