Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the 2021 Australian Open had to implement strict rules. However, nobody knew how strict these rules were until a recent incident took place.
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Players on 2 charter flights to Melbourne were quarantined after some passengers tested positive for COVID-19. They are not going to be able to train for 2 weeks which is not good as the event starts on February 8th.
Every player who was quarantined is certainly not happy about this decision and some expressed their outrage on Twitter. The player who began this was World No. 28 Yulia Putintseva who said that she was not informed about this rule.
What i don’t understand is that, why no one ever told us, if one person on board is positive the whole plane need to be isolated🤦🏼♀️ I would think twice before coming here
Because they said, you have to only if you or one of your team members is positive! Not a random person on the plane
World No. 88 Sorana Cirstea also agreed with Putintseva on the topic. She said that she wouldn’t have traveled to Australia if she knew about the rule. In addition to that, she also talked about the time it would take to regain her fitness after a two-week quarantine.
I agree...if they would have told us this rule before i would not play Australia...I would have stayed home. They told us we would fly at 20% capacity, in sections and we would be a close contact ONLY if my team or cohort tests positive .
What i don’t understand is that, why no one ever told us, if one person on board is positive the whole plane need to be isolated🤦🏼♀️ I would think twice before coming here
I would need at least 3 weeks after in order to be in decent form again and compete at a high level!
Thanks for making this clear. What would a pro athlete need to prepare for a tournament after having spent 14 days in quarantine in order to be ready and not risk a injury, @sorana_cirstea?
More Players Express Their Outrage At Australian Open Rules
Former World No. 13 Kirsten Flipkens also joined in this rant. She was very upset as many players were training very hard for this event and that they were not aware of the rule regarding flight travel. Spanish tennis player Paula Badosa also had this complaint
.@paulabadosa on Instagram. This does not look good 😕
Clearly, players are very upset about being confined to a room because of rule they were not aware of. However, what makes it even worse is that their rooms are not meeting sanitary requirements. Here is a very disturbing tweet by Putintseva which shows a rat running inside her room.
Been trying to change the room for a 2 hours already ! And no one came to help due to quarantine situation🤦🏼♀️
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MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA – JANUARY 19: A ballboy on court during a match between Michaella Krajicek of the Netherlands and Ana Ivanovic of Serbia. It was during day four of the 2012 Australian Open at Melbourne Park on January 19, 2012 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Lucas Dawson/Getty Images)
Players are visible unhappy about the COVID-19 rules at the 2021 Australian Open. Due to quarantine, they are not able to prepare and hence, they might have to miss the event this year. Hopefully, at the upcoming events, the various protocols will be a lot clearer for them.
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