Scott Morrison has told Australian Open players to stop complaining about their time in a coronavirus hotel quarantine.
Around 1,200 players and fans of Melbourne and Adelaide arrived over the weekend to quarantine for two weeks before the tournament which starts on February 8th.
They are allowed to go out for training for five hours each day but 72 players were forced to stay indoors after passengers on their flights tested positive for the disease.
World number one Novak Djokovic has called for quarantine restrictions to be relaxed
Stars including Victoria Azarenka, Sloane Stephens, Kei Nishikori and Angelique Kerber are among those who now have a major disadvantage compared to competitors who can train.
Swiss World No. 12 Belinda Bencic has called the rule unfair and French player Alize Cornet called the situation ‘insane’.
Top seed Novak Djokvic released a list of requests for the quarantine players – including the move to private homes with tennis courts – but was rejected by officials.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison went in on Monday, urging the players to stop protesting.
‘It’s time for people to follow the rules, do their quarantine and play tennis,’ he told Sydney 2GB radio.
‘They get paid well for it. I’m sure they’ll put on a great look and the Australian Open will go on. ‘
It comes after several players violated quarantine requirements.
One player who was supposed to be lonely was caught opening his door to brag about buying food from Uber Eats for his entire floor.
Another man was caught chatting to his training buddy in his hall, said Quarantine Victoria COVID-19 commissioner Emma Cassar.
She warned that further misconduct by players could be punished by a fine of up to $ 20,000.
Players enter the world of Russia No. 28 Yulia Putintseva also struck out at the strict quarantine rules.
World Grand Slam winner Angelique Kerber is one of 47 players currently locked up
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
‘What I don’t understand is, why no one has ever told us, if one person on board is positive the whole plane has to be lonely. I would think twice before I come here, ‘she wrote.
Roman World No. 71 Sorana Cirstea said that she would also have ‘stayed at home’ if she had known about the rule about close contact on charter charters.
The Swiss world said No. 12 Belinda Bencic that it was unfair to quarantine some players and others free for proper training and preparation.
‘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. ‘
French player Alize Cornet said the situation was ‘cowardly’ in a post that has been deleted.
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.
French tennis player Alize Cornet has apologized for being ‘tactless’ after calling Australian Open quarantine protocols ‘insane’ on Twitter
But those rules were changed without notice to extend it to include any passenger, she said.
However, Artem Sitak, who is doubling New Zealand, said players who complain about their condition should ‘put some things in perspective’ and understand how lucky they are when 38,000 can’t Australians still get home because of the country’s ability to reach.
On Monday, Cornet backed up, dismissed her complaint and apologized, acknowledging the hardships Victorians were experiencing by going through nearly four months of hard locks last year.
‘After my last tweet (deleted) I feel I need to apologize to you for the people of Australia. Your comments on this unspoken idea made me realize what you have been through last year and what you have suffered.
‘I guess I feel a little anxious about this and I better shut my mouth.
Alize Cornet has been busy on twitter from being locked up ahead of the Australian Open