MELBOURNE (Australia): This year’s Australian Open will be confined to three stadiums with retractable roofs and eight indoor courts if conditions become hazardous due to the bushfire crisis, the organisers said on Tuesday.
The Australian Open begins on January 20.
“We have three roofed-stadiums and eight indoor courts at Melbourne Park,” Australian Open organizers said on the tournament’s official Twitter handle in response to queries on social media.
Huge bushfires in New South Wales and Victoria have burnt through more than 25.5 million acres of land, killed 25 people and left thousands homeless.
Smoke has also resulted in hazardous conditions in Sydney, where the final rounds of the inaugural ATP Cup will take place this weekend, and Melbourne.
Crisis would dissipate, says Djokovic
Seven-times Australian Open champion and world number two Novak Djokovic had said he hoped the crisis would “dissipate” soon but that an action plan would be needed to avoid any impact on the health of players if it did not.
“In the unlikely case of extreme smoke conditions, the roofs will be closed on the three stadium courts and play will continue in their air-conditioned and air-filtered environment.
“If smoke infiltrates the three stadium courts, the air conditioning system will filter it out,” he said.
The retractable roofs are usually used to continue play on the three courts when it rains or in extreme heat conditions.
Play on other 22 outdoor courts are suspended during this time. The indoor courts are usually used as practice facilities.
“The health of players, fans and staff is a priority at all times and we will continue to make these decisions with that in mind,” tournament director Craig Tiley told local media on Monday.
The smoke has so far caused the most disruption to the sporting calendar in Canberra, where a Twenty20 cricket match was abandoned on December 21 when conditions became too hazardous to continue.
An ATP Challenger/ITF Futures tennis tournament scheduled for this week in the capital was moved to Bendigo.
The city’s ACT Brumbies rugby team announced they would be moving their pre-season training camp to Newcastle.
