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Travel and sport goes hand in hand but the world of COVID restricts it

Coming from South Africa I grew up in a family who loves sport. Being Afrikaans (one of the nine official languages) a rugby and cricket match was never to be missed.

BUT, today I don’t want to educate you about these two sports. Today I want to address tennis and specifically a bucket list item for many sports lovers, a visit to Melbourne Park, Australia.

During my visit to Australia a highlight for me was my visit to Melbourne Park in Melbourne and in specific the tennis courts. Since 1988 this stadium host the first of the four Grand Slam Tennis events which are held each year and a major attraction not only to tennis lovers but sport lovers in general. This event takes place in the month of January each year. Rod Laver Arena is center court where the main matches like the finals takes place.

There is never a dull moment at this park and the surrounding facilities. You can attend various events and these are not only sport events like tennis, rugby, Aussie Football league and cricket. The park is also well known for its concerts. Kylie Minogue, Elton John, Mariah Carey, Michael Bublé and Justin Bieber are but a few of the artist who has set their stages on this magnificent ground.

There are different ways to explore Melbourne Park, through tour operators, half day bus tours, private afternoon tours and also sightseeing tours which includes a visit to the stadium. The prices range from $100. I was lucky as I went with Australian friends who knew the park well and it also cost less to enter.

What I found amazing was seeing workers everywhere in the park busy with improving and restorations, a sight not new to the locals.

Parking at the park is very expensive but public transport in Melbourne is superb with trains and trams arriving and departing on regular intervals. The cost for these means of transport varies between 2,50 USD and 4,50 USD.

Coming back to the game of tennis it was so encouraging seeing children from as young as 5 years old playing and practicing. I cannot help to wonder if this year’s women winner, who is from Australia, was one of the children I saw. Ash Barty was the first Australian women to win the singles title since 1978. A huge celebration for the people of Australia.

Although this created a lot of excitement in the world of sport it could still not damper the disappointment I felt for not seeing a Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic rivalry. For those who don’t know Djokovic had his visa revoked for breaking COVID restriction rules in Australia.

And that makes we wonder, when are we going to see stadiums around the world fill up again? To date, due to COVID regulations in South Africa we are only allowed 2,000 spectators in our stadiums.

I want to see sport lovers travelling the world, visiting all these amazing sport venues and fill them up when matches are played.

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