Barty locks in Melbourne warm-up, Brisbane set to host post-Open event

The jam-packed summer of tennis in Australia will continue deep into February after the Women's Tennis Association confirmed that another event will be played after the Australian Open.

Brisbane is shaping as the likely location for a WTA500 tournament, to be played during the week starting on February 22.

Already there will be five tournaments being run concurrently at Melbourne Park in the week before the Australian Open – the ATP Cup men's teams event, two WTA 500 events and two ATP 250 tournaments.

World No.1 Ashleigh Barty will make her long-awaited return to the court after locking down a spot in one of the women's events starting on January 31 in Melbourne.

The women's events that week will be known as the Gippsland Trophy and Yarra Valley Classic, while the men's events will be known as the Great Ocean Road Open and the Murray River Open.

Tennis Australia was involved in intricate negotiations to go ahead with a delayed Australian Open – starting on February 8 – and has kept a close eye on border closures caused by coronavirus restrictions with its scheduling decisions.

Barty will make a public appearance in Brisbane on Friday to outline her playing commitments for the summer.

More to come

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