Tennis Australia has confirmed the return of the ATP Cup as part of a jam-packed schedule ahead of the 2021 Australian Open.
With players set to spend 14 days in hotel quarantine upon arrival in Australia, it has been confirmed that there will be seven lead-up events in the build-up to the first grand slam of the year.
This is headlined by the return of the ATP Cup from February 1, with defending champions Serbia entering the tournament as the top seeds.
It is expected that 11 out of the top 12 players will compete in the leadup event to the Australian Open, with 20-time grand slam champion Roger Federer the main omission as he continues his return from injury.
Australia has been granted a wildcard spot at the event set to held at Melbourne Park, with Alex De Minaur and Nick Kyrgios looking to build off their semi-final appearance in 2020.
Along with this, Melbourne Park will host two WTA 500 events and two ATP 250 tournaments that will feature 64-player singles and 32-player doubles draws in order to give players some much-needed match fitness.
“During our many months of planning for the Australian Open it’s been a priority to provide as many competition opportunities for the playing group as possible,” Australian Open Tournament Director Craig Tiley said in a statement.
“It’s been an incredibly difficult year for everyone and the players have had limited opportunity to compete throughout 2020. These additional events will be vital to their Australian Open preparation.”
Another WTA 250 event will take place at Melbourne Park during week two of the grand slam for those eliminated early in the event, commencing on Saturday 13 February.
With the wheelchair tennis grand slam field set to expand to eight players in 2021, Australian wheelchair quads legend Dylan Alcott is also expected to headline two leadup events at the Victorian Wheelchair Tennis Open and Melbourne Wheelchair Tennis Open from 3 February at the Hume Tennis Centre.
AUSTRALIAN OPEN 2021 LEAD-UP SCHEDULE
10-13 Jan: Australian Open Men's qualifying, Doha
10-13 Jan: Australian Open Women's qualifying, Dubai
31 Jan - 6 Feb: Melbourne Summer Series (2x WTA 500, 2x ATP 250), Melbourne Park
1-5 Feb: ATP Cup 2021, Melbourne Park
3-6 Feb: Victorian Wheelchair Tennis Open, Hume Tennis Centre
8-21 Feb: Australian Open 2021, Melbourne Park
8-11 Feb: Melbourne Wheelchair Tennis Open, Hume Tennis Centre
13-19 Feb: WTA 250, Melbourne Park