MELBOURNE, Nov 21 — The start of the Australian Open is set to be pushed back from January to February or March next year due to Covid-19 protocols in the country, the Herald Sun newspaper reported today.

"I am very confident we will have an Aussie Open in the early part of next year,” the report quoted Victoria premier Daniel Andrews as saying today.

"The exact timing of it, the exact arrangements we put in place, they are not settled yet and as soon as they are settled, I will be more than happy to share it with you.”

Australian Open organisers were not immediately available for comment.

Tennis Australia (TA) had planned for players and their entourages to arrive in Victoria in mid-December to have time to undertake a mandatory two-week quarantine period before competing in Melbourne in January. — Reuters