Per leaked letter, unvaccinated players allowed to play Australian Open with two-week quarantine; qualifying back in Melbourne

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A letter sent from the WTA Tour to players has provided further details about entry requirements for the 2022 Australian Open, confirming that vaccinated players will not have to do two weeks of quarantine.

It also said that unvaccinated players will be allowed into Australia, contrary to some government comments from a few days ago, but will be required to do two weeks of hotel quarantine.

According to the WTA, Tennis Australia has also changed its plans for Australian Open qualifying—it will now be played at Melbourne Park, as usual, not in Doha and Dubai, like it was this year's event.

The WTA said it had wanted to address "false and misleading" rumors about Australian Open restrictions.

Because coronavirus vaccination rates are now above 80 percent in the state of Victoria, noted the WTA, "it has been confirmed that conditions for players at the Australian Open will improve significantly."

Players can begin coming to Australia at the beginning of December, and will have to undergo testing before and following arrival. But upon arriving, there will be big differences depending on whether they are vaccinated.

Vaccinated players "are not required to quarantine or stay in a bubble, will have no ongoing restrictions imposed on them," and "will have complete freedom of movement."

But if unvaccinated, players will be required to do "hotel quarantine for 14 days upon arrival," and "must submit to regular testing."

The same conditions would also apply to ATP players, as the Australian Open is a combined Grand Slam event.

Previously, it had appeared that unvaccinated players would not be allowed to enter the country at all for the tournament, with government minister Alex Hawke telling ABC Radio that ''every visitor to Australia will need to be double vaccinated," and another minister, Greg Hunt, saying that there would be no exceptions.

Nevertheless, it still seems unlikely most players would agree to compete under such conditions, having already objected to the two-week quarantine imposed for this season's event.

According to recent tour figures, 35 percent of ATP players and 40 percent of WTA players are still unvaccinated against the coronavirus. But some have said they plan to get the vaccine during the off-season, and the Australian requirements could provide extra impetus to do so.

Tennis Australia, which has been working with various levels of Australian government on its arrangements, has not yet released a full statement on tournament protocols.