The Australian Open will go ahead in Melbourne in 2021, the ABC reports. But tournament director Craig Tiley says the event will “be a very different look”.

“We’ve been working through many different scenarios as things have progressed for January next year, and we’re confident that particularly here in Victoria and across Australia we’re going to continue to maintain a small infection rate,” Tiley said on Breakfast on ABC Radio Melbourne today.

“We could run it in a lockdown hub facility, or if the border is open there’ll be more free movement, but our first objective is obviously everyone’s safety.”

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“If we were to do it behind closed doors, that’s possible – we’d still be able to have the matches and all the great content go worldwide, but ideally we’d like to have some crowds. And that’s what we’re working [towards].”

This year the event attracted its largest crowd ever – more than 800,000 people.