SINGAPORE — Tennis fans will be able to catch the semi-finals and finals matches of the Singapore Tennis Open this weekend live in person, though a cap of 250 spectators will be put in place as part of prevailing safe management rules.

In a media statement on Wednesday (Feb 24), the tournament organisers said that ticket sales for the matches on Feb 27 and 28 are priced at S$61 each and will “allow fans to watch all matches of the selected day”.

The cost of the mandatory pre-event Antigen Rapid Test (ART) is included in the ticket price.

In an update, the organisers said that as of 10am on Thursday, tickets for the matches on Feb 27 and 28 have sold out, after going on sale at 6pm the day before.

“Ticket holders are advised to plan to get to the venue ahead of time for their Antigen Rapid Test,” they said. 

Before entering the tennis arena, spectators — who should be above six years old — will have to undergo the test at the Sports Hub Visitor Centre at OCBC Square, with results in about 30 minutes.

Upon receiving a negative ART result, spectators can then proceed to the arena entrance for temperature checks and SafeEntry check-in using TraceTogether.

They are required to observe the safety measures in place such as wearing masks at all times.

The spectators will also not be allowed to change seats and intermingle between different groups of people, the organisers stressed.

Fans may purchase a maximum of four tickets each and will only be permitted to choose either Saturday’s or Sunday’s session.

Spectators are also not allowed to bring outside food and drinks to the venue, while a bottle of water will be provided at the event.   

No cheering is allowed at the matches, and spectators are instead encouraged to show their support by applauding.

The allowance for spectators for the event — which is an indoor hard-court tournament taking place here from Feb 22 to 28 — comes after organisers said last week that the public may be permitted to watch the event if there are no reported cases of Covid-19 at the tournament and Singapore's Covid-19 situation remains under control until the middle of this week.

On Wednesday, the tournament’s organising chairman Lim Teck Yin said that the event has “served a promising start” and “received tremendous support from the tennis fraternity and local partners”.

“We are pleased to release limited seats to the Finals Weekend of the tournament,” added Mr Lim, who is also the chief executive officer of Sport Singapore.

“The safety of all event participants continues to be our top priority and we are committed to bringing live action of the world-class sporting event in a safe and secure environment with robust safe management measures.”

Fans may continue to tune in to the live coverage of the Singapore Tennis Open on Mediacorp’s streaming site meWatch.

Mediacorp, the event’s official broadcaster, will have a live broadcast of the finals on Feb 28 on Channel 5.