Work stoppage possible as WestJet issues lockout notice to maintenance engineers' union
A lockout notice issued by WestJet to a union representing aircraft maintenance engineers could result in a work stoppage next week.
While the "will he or won't he?" question remains for No. 1 Novak Djokovic and his participation in the Australian Open, the rest of the tennis world returns to work this week to prepare for the season's first major beginning Jan. 17 at Melbourne Park.
The men's ATP Cup team event has been on since the weekend in Sydney, and there are three tune-up events being played this week in Melbourne as part of Tennis Australia's "Summer Set" of tournaments -- two WTA tournaments and one ATP.
In Adelaide, there is a joint ATP and WTA tournament this week. Next week, both Adelaide and Sydney will hold joint ATP-WTA tournaments.
Djokovic is still nowhere to be seen.
Australian Open chief executive Craig Tiley says there is "quite a bit to play out" before nine-time champion Djokovic shows up to play in Australia.
The top-ranked player has continually refused to reveal if he is vaccinated against COVID-19, a requirement to play in Melbourne. But there has been speculation Djokovic could apply for a medical exemption to play as he eyes a record-breaking 21st Grand Slam singles title. He is tied with Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal with 20.
Djokovic withdrew from Serbia's ATP Cup team last week.
"We've still got a few charter flights coming in until the end of this week and then all the players will be here," Tiley said. "As far as the status relates to Novak, I think we'll have a much clearer picture in the coming days otherwise it's getting pretty late to show up and play the Australian Open. There's quite a bit to play out and I think it will play out in the coming days."
Naomi Osaka and Simona Halep will headline the WTA tournament in Melbourne this week while Nadal, recovering from COVID-19, is the top seed at the ATP event at Melbourne Park. Also in the ATP tournament is second-seeded Reilly Opelka, Nick Kyrgios and Grigor Dimitrov.
In Adelaide, top-ranked and Wimbledon champion Ash Barty is the headliner, joined by Coco Gauff, Iga Swiatek and Aryna Sabalenka. Gael Monfils is the No. 1 seed at the Adelaide ATP tournament, while Karen Khachanov is seeded second.
At the Adelaide WTA event Monday, third-seeded Maria Sakkari beat Tamara Zidansek 6-2, 0-6, 6-4 in the opening round of the 32-draw tournament and Ajla Tomljanovic beat Heather Watson 6-4 7-6 (5).
Barty, who has a first-round bye, hasn't played a tournament since losing in the third at the U.S. Open in early September.
"In the next couple weeks I'll have to be patient with myself, it has been awhile since I've played a competitive match," Barty said Monday. "But I feel good. I feel ready. Now it's just about going out there and enjoying it."
U.S. Open champion Emma Raducanu withdrew from the Melbourne tournament, having just come out of isolation after testing positive for COVID-19.
Raducanu, who became the first qualifier to win a Grand Slam tournament when she won at Flushing Meadows in September, had pulled out of an Abu Dhabi tournament in late December after contracting the virus.
Two of the biggest names in tennis won't be playing the Australian Open.
Federer is still recovering from right knee surgery.
Serena Williams' Grand Slam title drought will officially reach five years after the 23-time major champion announced her withdrawal from the Australian Open last month due to an ongoing hamstring injury. It means she'll miss another chance to tie Margaret Court's all-time Grand Slam record.
Williams' 23rd major singles title -- and most recent -- came at the Australian Open in 2017.
And for the first time since 1997, no Williams sister will be in action at Melbourne Park. Venus Williams, 41, hasn't played since August because of a leg injury.
A lockout notice issued by WestJet to a union representing aircraft maintenance engineers could result in a work stoppage next week.
A man accused of arson in a January Old Strathcona apartment fire is expected to be charged with manslaughter after a body was discovered in the burned building late last month.
A man was denied a $5,000 payout from his brother after a B.C. tribunal dismissed his claim disputing how many kittens were born in a litter.
Three bodies recovered in an area of Baja California are likely to be those of the two Australians and an American who went missing last weekend during a camping and surfing trip, the state prosecutor’s office said Saturday.
Almost a week after all London Drugs stores across Western Canada abruptly closed amid a cyberattack, they began a "gradual reopening" on Saturday.
Quebec provincial police handed out hundreds of fines to Hells Angels members and other supporting motorcycle clubs who met for their 'first run' in a small town near Sherbrooke, Que.
Auston Matthews was back on the ice with his teammates Saturday.
Russia has put Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on its wanted list, Russian state media reported Saturday, citing the interior ministry’s database.
According to an X post by the Transportation Security Administration, officers at the Miami International Airport found the small bag of snakes hidden in a passenger's trousers on April 26 at a checkpoint.
Alberta Ballet's double-bill production of 'Der Wolf' and 'The Rite of Spring' marks not only its final show of the season, but the last production for twin sisters Alexandra and Jennifer Gibson.
A British Columbia mayor has been censured by city council – stripping him of his travel and lobbying budgets and removing him from city committees – for allegedly distributing a book that questions the history of Indigenous residential schools in Canada.
Three men in Quebec from the same family have fathered more than 600 children.
A group of SaskPower workers recently received special recognition at the legislature – for their efforts in repairing one of Saskatchewan's largest power plants after it was knocked offline for months following a serious flood last summer.
A police officer on Montreal's South Shore anonymously donated a kidney that wound up drastically changing the life of a schoolteacher living on dialysis.
Since 1932, Montreal's Henri Henri has been filled to the brim with every possible kind of hat, from newsboy caps to feathered fedoras.
Police in Oak Bay, B.C., had to close a stretch of road Sunday to help an elephant seal named Emerson get safely back into the water.
Out of more than 9,000 entries from over 2,000 breweries in 50 countries, a handful of B.C. brews landed on the podium at the World Beer Cup this week.
Raneem, 10, lives with a neurological condition and liver disease and needs Cholbam, a medication, for a longer and healthier life.