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International tennis players have started to leave hotel lockdown in Melbourne after completing quarantine but rain is hampering their plans for court time.
International tennis players have been dealt a fresh blow after their release from hotel lockdown with heavy rain in Melbourne further hampering their Australian Open preparations.
The first groups of players left hotels on Thursday night having completed 14 days in quarantine since arriving on charter flights, with the process to continue until Sunday when about 500 will have been allowed out.
While some of the game's biggest stars were involved in an exhibition event in Adelaide, others hoping to make up for lost time before the WTA and ATP lead-in events for the Open had more bad luck.
Rain fell across Melbourne for most of Friday and was forecast to continue until 2pm on Saturday.
Two concurrent WTA events are first on court at Melbourne Park getting under way on Sunday, before the two men's tournaments start on Monday.
The ATP Cup, featuring men's teams from 12 nations, runs from February 2-5 in Melbourne.
Australia's world No.1 Ash Barty will headline the women's field that includes 45 of the top 50 players, with the top-32 ranked players split across the two events.
Canadian Bianca Andreescu will make a return to the court after missing 2020 through injury but the 2019 US Open champion is on the back foot after being one of 72 players in hard lockdown.
Those players, who were on board the same flights as the nine passengers who tested positive to COVID-19, were unable to leave their rooms for 14 days while others were able to train for up to five hours a day.
Tennis Australia boss Craig Tiley said players who had been in hard lockdown would be given priority on the practice courts and with the draw scheduling.
"We're going to have a great deal of empathy for supporting those who have been in hard lockdown and I've already made that commitment to them," Tiley said.
"We'll look at the scheduling and availability of practice courts and practice times."
Spanish player Paula Badosa is the only player who tested positive since arrival in Australia and will remain in the medical hotel, racing the clock to be fit for the February 8 Open start date.
Barty told AAP she didn't feel she would have an advantage despite not being under any quarantine rules.
"Obviously we have different state borders and state rules here in Australia so I don't think anyone has really had more of an advantageous kind of preparation," Barty, who hasn't played a competitive match in almost a year, said.
"Everyone is doing the best that they can and as players we have to respect that and understand that it's been a really tricky time, particularly down here in Melbourne and we have to understand that we're incredibly lucky that we have an opportunity to play.
"But I know that everyone is extremely professional and when the day comes that they have to walk on court and play, they'll be ready without a doubt."
