Instead of training for up to five hours a day as they prepare for the Australian Open, 72 players find themselves unable to leave their hotel rooms under quarantine rules — and a number of them are vocally expressing their frustrations.
Some are not only frustrated. Covid-19 Quarantine Victoria Commissioner Emma Cassar said on Sunday that there had been a “small few” people — including a player — within the Australian Open quarantine hotels who were “testing our procedures.” A fourth Covid-19 infection was recorded among the passengers on the two charter flights carrying players to Melbourne for the Australian Open in recent days, according to Cassar. A member of a broadcast team on the flight carrying 24 players from Los Angeles had tested positive, adding to a crew member and a coach on the same plane who were tested positive earlier. The other case was a coach on a charter flight carrying 23 players from Abu Dhabi. Later on Sunday, Australian Open organizers announced that another 25 players had been placed in quarantine hotels after a passenger on a Doha-Melbourne flight that arrived on Saturday had returned a positive Covid-19 test. “The passenger is not a member of the playing contingent and had tested negative before the flight,” said the Australian Open in a statement. “There were 58 passengers on the flight, including 25 players.” All 72 players affected are required to quarantine for two weeks and will not be able to leave their hotel rooms for the 14-day period and until they are medically cleared. They are not eligible to practice. “A player who opened his door to try to have a conversation with his training mate down the hallway,” added Cassar. “The other was another gentleman who shouted some Uber Eats to some other people on the floor and was praising himself for his great efforts and opened his door to do so.
