Aus Open boss hits out at 'ridiculous' criticism

1 year ago 72

Tennis Australia main enforcement Craig Tiley has described calls for the timing of the Australian Open to beryllium changed to let players a longer off-season arsenic "ridiculous" and "bizarre".

Tiley was responding to an Australian media study which suggested the archetypal expansive slam of the play mightiness beryllium moved distant from January and the tallness of the Australian summer.

"I did work that. I thought it was perfectly ridiculous - a bizarre claim," helium said.

"You speech to each player, this is the season. It starts successful January. It starts present successful Australia."

Tiley was speaking during an lawsuit astatine Melbourne Park connected Monday that marked the commencement of the Australian Open qualifying tournament. Australian subordinate Alex de Minaur, who besides attended the event, said it was "no secret" the nonrecreational play was a agelong 1 but said helium relished the January start.

"Alex has a bully constituent astir the magnitude of the season," Tiley said.

"The athletics does request to get unneurotic and look astatine the magnitude of it.

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"It finishes with Davis Cup precocious connected the men's broadside and not arsenic precocious connected the women's broadside but I bash deliberation it's a agelong season. We've been talking astir that for a agelong time.

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"But Australia is the summer, Australia is January and this lawsuit is, from the players' perspective, 1 of their favourite places to play."

Some commentators person linked the withdrawal of starring players including men's No.1 Carlos Alcaraz from this year's Open with the abbreviated off-season. Alcaraz and seasoned Venus Williams some volition miss the tourney with injuries. Many players besides look the situation of adapting from the bluish hemisphere wintertime to the Australian summer.

Tiley said players had capable clip to hole and acclimatise.

"They're coming present earlier, we're present seeing players present for six weeks, for 7 weeks and the mentation for the Australian summertime is precise normalised," helium said.

"They cognize what they request to do."

De Minaur said the magnitude of the play needed to beryllium reviewed.

"It's nary concealed the year's a precise agelong year," helium said.

"You play tournaments passim the full year, you decorativeness rather late. That depends connected your docket and everything.

"If determination was a spot much clip for an off-season, I'm definite a batch of players would similar that. But astatine the aforesaid time, we're benignant of utilized to it.

"I've done it for a mates of years wherever you decorativeness rather precocious and past you get close into the midst of things."

Tiley besides said for the archetypal clip since 2020, players would not beryllium required to study affirmative tests for COVID-19. But helium said players would beryllium encouraged to enactment distant if ill.

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