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By Nick Mulvenney
MELBOURNE (Reuters) – Serena Williams will want to have a big say in the matter but the inexorable drive towards youth among women’s Grand Slam winners looks set to continue at the Australian Open over the next two weeks.
The majestic American, who turns 40 this year, will be a contender for as long as she continues to swing a racket and arrives at Melbourne Park seeking a 24th Grand Slam title to match Margaret Court’s record.
Simona Halep is the only woman over the age of 24 to have won a Grand Slam singles title in the last two years, however, with Naomi Osaka, Ash Barty, Bianca Andreescu and Iga Swiatek taking out the game’s other major prizes.
Road to recovery: Bianca Andreescu s 15-month absence featured many twists and turns alaskahighwaynews.ca - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from alaskahighwaynews.ca Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Nick Roy / theScore
The 2021 tennis season is officially underway with Australian Open tuneup events taking place in Melbourne.
COVID-19 has dramatically altered the lead-up to the first Grand Slam, though tournament director Craig Tiley is adamant the event will go on as scheduled.
Here are five storylines to watch when the action begins Sunday evening.
How will COVID-19 impact the tournament? DAVID GRAY / AFP / Getty
The Australian Open was the only Grand Slam unaffected by the coronavirus pandemic last year. However, COVID-19 looms large as the 2021 edition nears. The major was pushed back three weeks from its original start date to allow players to travel and then quarantine for two weeks before competing.
0 >Kaia Kanepi (left) and Anett Kontaveit at the Merko Cup tournament held last August. Source: Anna Aurelia Minev/ERR
Thurday s matches in warm-up tournaments for the Australian Open, where Estonian tennis players Kaia Kanepi and Anett Kontaveit are participating, were delayed due to a positive coronavirus case.
On Wednesday, a staff member of the hotel accommodating tennis players and coaches tested positive for COVID-19, leading all matches on Thursday to be delayed. In addition, nearly 600 people must remain in self-isolation as they were deemed close contacts.
Tennis Australia, the federation in charge of tournament management, announced that all matches will be delayed, including Kaia Kanepi s Gippsland Trophy match-up with Karolina Muchova and Anett Kontaveit s Grampians Trophy meeting with Bethanie Mattek-Sands.