New Exhibition Tennis Tournament for Adelaide

[Ho Really]

Adelaide has picked up a new exhibition tournament as reward for hosting a quarantine bubble...
Marc McGowan
January 9, 2021 - 4:21PM
News Corp Australia Sports Newsroom

Tennis Australia boss Craig Tiley has rejected suggestions of an uneven playing field as his organisation announces a new exhibition tournament in Adelaide.

The event is part of the South Australian Government’s reward for hosting a 50-strong COVID-19 quarantine bubble, given TA was at bursting point in Melbourne.

Almost 1300 people from more than 100 countries are set to arrive in Australia next week on 18 charter flights, departing from various international cities.

The top-three-ranked men’s players – Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Dominic Thiem – have all accepted invitations to the Adelaide tournament.

World No.2 Simona Halep, 2019 Australian Open winner Naomi Osaka and 23-times grand slam champion Serena Williams are also going to play.

Two more players will be added to the field at Memorial Drive Tennis Centre for the one-off event, A Day at the Drive, on January 29.

They will arrive in Adelaide on Thursday and serve their 14-day quarantine period there rather than in Melbourne, where the rest of the Australian Open competitors will be.

Djokovic, Nadal and Thiem are then headed to Melbourne for the ATP Cup, starting on February 1, while there are two WTA 500 events for the leading women’s players in the same week.

[...]

Adelaide will also host a star-studded WTA 500 tournament after the Open finishes, between February 22 and 27.

Cheers

[Brucetiki]

Good to see we still get a WTA event post-AO as well.

Being a 500 event it should attract some good quality participants.

[rev]

Good to see we still get a WTA event post-AO as well.

Being a 500 event it should attract some good quality participants.

Is there even any coverage of it?

I don't think it works having it post-AO. These events are meant to be the lead up tournaments, the warm ups for the main grand slam.
Most people even, or especially the media seem to have tuned out.