International tennis stars have had a taste of their life situation after being inducted into a hotel quarantine in Melbourne ahead of the Australian Open.
Several top athletes including Carreno Busta and Fabio Fognini have criticized the food they have received since arriving last week, and French player Alize Cornet described the -location as a ‘cowardly’ thing in a deleted post.
The 30-year-old shared her fears about the Australian government’s decision to quarantine 47 players after two cases of Covid being flown on a plane from Los Angeles.
Returning Australians must return alone in designated hotels when they arrive in two weeks, but Victoria has prepared to allow Australian Open participants five hours of daily training during quarantine time. .
With the two new Covid cases, the government ordered all other passengers on board into a two – week hard quarantine, eliminating the agreed training times.
French player Alize Cornet said the situation was ‘cowardly’ in a post that has been ruled out
Two passengers inside one of the planes taking people to the Australian Open have been positive for Covid-19, although no one has been confirmed as a competitor
Carreno Busta, the No.15 world who came from Spain, shared a picture of a salad, a cup of apple and juice next to the ‘caption’ really? ‘. Italian and world star No.17 Fabio Fognini was offered the same food, and explained that he hoped he found something more substantial next time
Soon, half of the players from the AO will have to part, ‘Cornet wrote in a deleted tweet.
‘Weeks and weeks of practice and hard work going to waste for one positive person to COVID in a 3/4 empty plane. Sorry, this is insane. ‘
Cornet said when it agreed to the tournament, players were told they would be split into sections of 10 people on their flights.
If one person within that category was positive, players were told they needed quarantine.
But those rules have since been changed to include the rest of the plane, she said.
Despite the odds, Australian Open tournament leader Craig Tiley has put pressure on the tournament.
‘We’re reviewing the incoming record to see what we can do to help these players,’ he said.
‘Certainly not what we wanted to happen. That is why we have taken the mitigation measures but we are in this situation, we have to deal with it.
‘The Australian Open is on and we will continue to do our best to ensure that these players have the best possible chance. ‘
Cornet said when it agreed to the tournament, players were told they would be split into sections of 10 people on their flights. If one person within that category was positive, players were told they needed quarantine
Several top athletes including Carreno Busta and Fabio Fognini have criticized the food they have received since their arrival last week
Cornet understood it was a ‘privilege’ to be in the position she is in, but said players are at risk of serious injury if they compete after a two-week break.
Cornet understood that it is a ‘privilege’ to be in the position she is in, but he argued that players are at risk of serious injury if they compete after a two – week break.
‘This seems to be a very sensitive topic and I understand it … But we don’t want Victorian residents to play professional sports afterwards. I may be focusing too much on my side of the story, but that is also why we are here. ‘
Cornet was one of several stars who raised the same concern after learning about the quarantine orders.
Swiss world No. 12 Belinda Bencic said the restrictions were giving some players an unfair advantage.
‘We don’t complain of being in quarantine. We complain about the unfair use / pre-tournament play situation being very important, ‘she said.
‘We made our decision to come here from rules sent to us. Then we arrived and found an information book / rules with more / new rules we didn’t know about. ‘
Several top athletes including Corentin Moutet and Fabio Fognini have criticized the food they have received since their arrival last week
This week ferry players, including defending champion Novak Djokovic, have arrived
Alize Cornet shared two photos taken from the quarantine house of her own hotel in Melbourne
Several other players said that if they had been told there was a quarantine risk for 14 days without access to training, they would not have competed in the tournament.
At the same time others have noticed the sub-par food they have been getting since they arrived in Australia.
Carreno Busta, the No.15 world who came from Spain, shared a picture of a salad, a cup of apple and juice next to the ‘headline’ really? ‘.
Italian and world star No.17 Fabio Fognini was offered the same food, and explained that he hoped he found something more substantial next time.
At the same time Benoit Paire of France opted out of quarantine food outright, and ordered McDonald’s delivered to his room.
In total, around 1,200 elite international players and their teams will arrive in Melbourne ahead of the tournament, which is due to start on February 8th.
Spanish star Rafael Nadal (pictured) has also touched Australia
Hundreds of players, including Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal, have already arrived.
All participants and negative test officers must return Covid before boarding the flight.
Sylvain Bruneau, who coaches 2019 US Open winner Bianca Andreescu, was one of the top picks on board the Los Angeles flight.
He says he felt ‘quite right’ before boarding the flight and tested negative for the virus within 72 hours of boarding.
‘I have no idea how I could get this virus,’ he said. ‘I am deeply saddened and saddened by the impact now on the shoulders of everyone sharing my flight.
‘The rest of my team is negative and I hope there will be more unrest.’
Japanese star Kei Nishikori (pictured left) was flown from LA to Melbourne, as was the previous world number 1 Victoria Azarenka (pictured right)