Crowds stay away from opening day of the Australian Open as cold snap and Covid take their toll
- Tennis Australia will be disappointed by first-day attendance of 17,922
- Covid safety measures have seen Melbourne Park split into three sections
- Fans cannot move from one area to another if there is a potential upset
Not even the return of tennis’s enfant terrible, Nick Kyrgios, could save a deflating first day at this most challenging of Australian Opens.
Amid an unseasonably cold spell, the crowd to see Kyrgios was sparse — perhaps 1,000-strong in an arena built for 10 times as many. The official first-day attendance was 17,922, which is three-and-a-half times down on last year’s curtain-raiser.
Tennis Australia, whose efforts to get their annual extravaganza up and running have been extraordinary, will surely have been disappointed.
First-day attendance was 17,922, three-and-a-half times down on last year’s curtain-raiser
Monday began with Serena Williams practising in a startling pink and black catsuit on outside Court 11. There was maybe one spectator for each of her 23 major titles, her three-year-old daughter Olympia among them.
The stars’ practice sessions are usually thronged, but Covid safety measures have seen Melbourne Park split into three sections. Fans cannot move from one area to another, so if there is a buzz over an incident or a potential upset, spectators can no longer dash over to see it.
Vibrant hospitality facilities are normally a feature of the Open, but all around the stalls sat mostly empty. Melbourne has suffered hugely during Covid, and nobody wants to jeopardise the hard-earned gains.
It would be jumping the gun to say the city needs a miracle to get its premier sporting occasion back on track, but it is not far off the truth.