Victorian Sports and Major Events Minister Martin Pakula has responded after a leaked email to WTA players claimed unvaccinated tennis stars would be allowed to compete at the Australian Open after completing 14 days of hotel quarantine Down Under.
The email from the governing body of women’s tennis says fully vaccinated players won’t have to quarantine or remain in bubbles at all during the grand slam, which is scheduled to take place in Melbourne in January.
As revealed in the email, which was posted on social media by tennis reporter Ben Rothenberg, unvaccinated players “must submit to regular testing” whereas fully vaccinated stars “will have complete freedom of movement”.
However, Mr Pakula told 3AW radio on Monday morning a plan was “not settled”.
“We are still resolving with Tennis Australia and the Commonwealth whether unvaccinated foreign nationals will be allowed into Australia at all, and if so, under what circumstances they will be allowed,” Mr Pakula said.
“Unvaccinated, we are still talking to the Commonwealth about whether the rule for international unvaccinated arrivals is either 14 days quarantine, or they are not coming into the country at all. We don’t expect that to be settled for another couple of weeks.
“In the end, it’s a federal decision about who gets into the country and the circumstances in which they get in. We are still having that conversation with them. And we’re obviously talking to Tennis Australia who is also talking to the Commonwealth.
“We’ll get all that sorted in plenty of time for every player on the tour to be very clear about what the rules will be. The one thing that we have assured them all, is that the vaccinated players will be treated the same way as any other vaccinated entrant to the country.”
