Melbourne (AFP)

The organizers of the Australian Open tennis have had to find new quarantine accommodation for the players after a hotel decision to forgo hosting them, apparently due to concerns from residents.

The organizers of the first Grand Slam tournament of the year, scheduled for February 8-21, have confirmed that they have found a new hotel after the Westin Melbourne canceled plans to host players during the two weeks of quarantine preceding the event.

"Several hotels in Melbourne have already been booked, including a replacement hotel for the Westin, to safely accommodate the international group of players," organizers said in a statement on Tuesday.

According to local media, the project was abandoned amid threats from several permanent residents of the luxury hotel to take legal action.

The news comes 10 days before the expected arrival of the first participants in the capital of the state of Victoria.

The first Grand Slam of the year has already been postponed to February 8, to allow players to undergo a mandatory 14-day quarantine imposed on all foreign arrivals before taking part in a week of warm-up tournaments on the site of the Australian Open.

"There are a lot of pieces to this logistical puzzle and the last are being finalized right now," said Craig Tiley, head of the Australian Tennis Federation, on Twitter Tuesday.

To bring players from all over the world, "we will have up to 18 planes and each will be limited to 20% capacity to ensure that flights are as safe as possible for everyone," said the one who is also the tournament director.

"We are doing everything possible to ensure that flight details are communicated to the entire squad of players as soon as possible," said Craig Tiley.

"Thank you for being with us, we will bring everyone to Melbourne," he promised.

Melbourne did not come out of a multi-month quarantine until October, following a second wave of Covid-19, which complicated Grand Slam planning.

Australia has largely contained the new coronavirus, although new outbreaks of the pandemic in Sydney and Melbourne have forced authorities to reintroduce certain restrictions, including closing state borders.

© 2021 AFP