The Australian Open 2022 was launched over the weekend with crowds set to be back to full capacity.

Crowds will be treated to a full Grand Slam program that includes two weeks of lead-in tournaments, the return of qualifying and the AO Junior Championships.

Craig Tiley, CEO of Tennis Australia, told WWOS  it has been a “logistical challenge”.

“This one has been harder, I didn’t think anything would be harder than what we did last year from a logistical point of view,” he said.

“We have now got double the events that we had, more than double the number of people that we have to bring in, process visas … ensure that vaccine certificates are all correct and up to date.

“And the added variable of the health conditions in every state and then the general health conditions and requirements for entry and of course managing crowds.

“No one has done this yet for one event, bring in this amount of people and keep everyone safe and ensure we are able to run the event.”

Tiley told WWOS he still doesn’t know if Novak Djokovic will be competing in the Australian Open due to all players having to be fully vaccinated for COVID-19.

“He doesn’t want to start the year with not an opportunity to win all four grand slams like he had this year,” he said.

“The question is going to be where he is with his vaccination status, that is up to him, he has kept it private.”

Press PLAY to listen to the whole interview with Craig Tiley 

Image: Getty / iStock