Victorian Government approves crowd limit of 30,000 per day for Australian Open

Victorian Sports Minister Martin Pakula has today revealed that the state's Chief Health Officer has given approval for crowds of up to 30,000 to attend next month's Australian Open - around half the total numbers usually attending the tournament at Melbourne Park.

Crowd numbers of up to 30,000 per day will be permitted for the first eight days of the tournament, with the final six days to be capped at 25,000.

The final six days will see 12,500 allowed for the day session while 12,500 will be welcomed in for the night session.

Announcing the crowd caps, Minister Pakula advised “that means Rod Laver Arena, as we get towards the end of the tournament, will have an incredible atmosphere

"That's a testament to the work Victorians have done to get our (Coronavirus) numbers to zero (and to) the extraordinary work Craig (Tiley) and the team at Tennis Australia have done.”

With a total of 390,000 people to attend Melbourne Park over the course of the event, Minister Pakula noted “it will not be the same as the last few years but it will be the most significant international event with crowds the world has seen for many months."

After spending at least two weeks in hotel quarantine, nearly 1,000 Australian Open players and officials will have been released by the end of the weekend, with a number taking to social media to celebrate the end of the process.

12:54am - FINALLY FREE from 15 days in strict quarantine and of course my first stop is Rod Laver Arena for a midnight practice! pic.twitter.com/RachFvo07m

— Heather Watson (@HeatherWatson92) January 29, 2021

WTA 58th ranked player Heather Watson welcomes the end of quarantine on social media.

Tennis Australia Chief Executive and Tournament Director, Craig Tiley said he hoped the event would send a signal to the rest of the world that Melbourne was "the world's capital of sport", advising that "99.9%" of the Australian Open players were happy to be out of quarantine and appreciative of the efforts taken to protect them and the community from the coronavirus.

He added "I think we all underestimated the amount of work and effort and intensity that went into these two weeks, but we've come out of it with a great success."

With players now having nine days after leaving quarantine before they had to play in the tournament, Tiley added “that period of time, while it may in an athlete's mind not be perfectly ideal, it is enough of a period of time to get as ready as you possibly can be

"But it would be no different to inclement weather stopping training or to someone being a bit sick and having to take a few days out."

In a statement, the Victorian Government said "rigorous" infection control and prevention measures would be enforced.

Main image: Australian Open action at the Rod Laver Arena. Credit: Global-cityzen/CC BY-SA 4.0/Edited for size.