Figuring out where and how to start the tennis season is usually pretty easy for the world’s top players. They catch a flight to Australia around Christmas, spend a few days getting over the jet lag, then compete for two weeks in warm-up tournaments ahead of the Australian Open.
But with the sport's calendar upended by the coronavirus pandemic, which prompted a three-week delay of the Australian Open, players have had to make difficult calculations about the value of traveling to compete now, as infection rates are still soaring in many parts of the world.
As the 2021 professional tennis season began this week, several of the top players opted not to attend the only opening tournaments before they have to quarantine for two weeks in Australia.