'It's too early': Simona Halep's conditions on Australian Open return

WTA World No.2 Simona Halep has outlined the conditions she would need to make the trip to Australia to compete in the first Grand Slam of 2021.

Australian Open boss Craig Tiley recently said he was optimistic the Grand Slam would go ahead with the government opening up the border for international players.

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Tiley categorically ruled out staging the 2021 Melbourne grand slam if players are forced into two weeks of hard quarantine during the coronavirus pandemic.

Tiley remains "absolutely" confident the Open will go ahead as planned from January 18-31, along with the usual lead-up events.

He is banking on Australia's state and federal governments relaxing border restrictions and granting special approval for a training bubble to be established for the world's tennis elite.

This is exactly what World No.2 Halep was counting on after she claimed it would be too hard to play a tournament if she wasn’t able to train.

“I think that in Australia it’s going to be 14 days’ [quarantine], but it’s going to be a bubble,” Halep said, according to TennisHead.

“So it’s not that you have to stay 14 days just in a room – because if you do that you cannot play after 14 days without training. But if it’s a bubble like it was in Paris, I’m open and I’m going.”

Williams and Federer commit to Aus Open

Australian tennis is yet to commit to earlier tournament ahead of the Grand Slam and Halep said it is too early for her to decide whether she would take part.

“It depends on what I decide to play,” she added.

“I have no idea whether I will play the first tournament. We’ll see. It’s too early.”

In a huge boost, superstars Roger Federer and Serena Williams, both of whom turn 40 in 2021, have already committed to the Open but Tiley says players simply won't show up if they can't prepare properly.

"Right now the challenge we have is the borders are still closed," he said.

"So we've got a plan on the basis that there will be all open borders.

"So we're working with all state governments. We completely accept that everyone coming from overseas has got to have two weeks in quarantine.

with AAP

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