Ammon News - Australian Open to admit up to 30,000 spectators a day; Players begin emerging from their quarantine periods, including some of the 72 players who had not been allowed out of their rooms for the full period following positive coronavirus tests for people on three of the charter flights.

The Australian Open will be allowed to admit up to 30,000 fans a day, around 50 per cent of the usual attendance, when the Grand Slam gets underway on February 8.

The limit will be reduced to 25,000 over the last five days of the tournament when there are fewer matches, but Victoria state sports minister Martin Pakula said the announcement would ensure some of the biggest crowds for a sporting event since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Pakula said the decision was a testament to the job the people of Victoria had done in containing the new coronavirus after enduring one of the longest and strictest lockdowns in the world.

"It'll mean that over the 14 days, we will have up to 390,000 people here at Melbourne Park and that's about 50 per cent of the average over the last three years," he told reporters at the venue for the tournament.

"It will not be the same as the last few years but it will be the most significant international event with crowds that the world has seen in many, many months."


It has been 24 days since Victoria reported a locally acquired COVID-19 infection, while Australia as a whole posted a 13th straight day without a community case on Saturday.

More than 1,000 people, players and their entourages, were obliged to undergo 14 days of quarantine on their arrival in Australia ahead of the year's first Grand Slam.

Despite gripes from some at the start of quarantine, tournament chief Craig Tiley said he was "particularly proud" of the "playing group", most of whom will be out of quarantine by the end of Saturday.

"I've seen a few of them this morning and contrary to what some players said 10 days ago, the majority of them - 99.9 per cent - are absolutely happy to be out and very appreciative of our efforts to protect them," he said.

Spain's Paula Badosa, the world No 67, was the only player to announce she had tested positive in Melbourne and has another few days of quarantine to complete.

*SKY