Sports
Australian Open: Tennis fans excited as crowds of up to 30,000 allowed back into stadiums
Melbourne: Australian Open (AO) has allowed up to 30,000 fans a day to attend the grand-slam tournament and fans can’t keep their excitement down.
According to the AO management, a daily crowd capacity of 30,000 will be allowed for the first eight days of the tournament, split equally between day and night sessions.
The decision has been taken keeping in view the coronavirus pandemic.
The number will later be reduced to 25,000 from the quarter-finals.
The tournament is scheduled to run from 8-21 February in Melbourne.
"Over the 14 days, it means we will have up to 390,000 people here at Melbourne Park, about 50% of the average over the past few years," said the sports minister Martin Pakula adding.
"It will not be the same … but it will be the most significant international event with crowds that the world has seen in many, many months."
Players arriving for the tournament underwent coronavirus testing following which they observed a mandatory isolation period of 14 days.
So far, Australia has reported 28,806 coornavirus cases with 909 deaths. The country eased lockdown last month following a reduction in number of infections.