Nearly fifty players are confined before the start of the tournament.

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BRENTON EDWARDS / AFP

Dozens of tennis stars placed in strict quarantine in hotels before the opening of the Australian Open will not benefit from "any preferential treatment" for training, Australian health authorities said on Monday.

Forced to bang balls against the walls of their rooms, players have called for a relaxation of isolation measures to be ready to play the first Grand Slam tournament of the year, which is due to start on February 8.

This weekend, passengers tested positive for Covid-19 on three of the 17 flights that carried the players and their entourage.

The 72 players who were on board, a little more than a quarter of the 256 engaged, will not have the right to train before the end of the fortnight intended to prevent the spread of Covid-19.

Funny atmosphere in Australia

Several players affected by this very strict measure have expressed their dissatisfaction on social networks.

World number 1 Novak Djokovic, who traveled on a flight in which no case has been identified and is thus authorized to train, allegedly sent a list of requests to the organizers of the tournament in which the right to settle in private homes equipped with a tennis court.

The Prime Minister of the State of Victoria Daniel Andrews rejected this request, affirming that the authorities will not reverse the measures put in place.

“There is no special treatment here.

The virus does not treat anyone in a special way and therefore neither do we, ”he said.

The arrangements already enjoyed by players have provoked strong reactions in Australia, with some wondering why more than a thousand players and their entourage were able to fly in to take part in the tournament while tens of thousands of Australians remain stranded in abroad.

For the past 24 hours, many training sessions have been postponed and then canceled in Melbourne.

Players wait for hours to be picked up from their rooms.

Here, Alex de Minaur ...



🎥 IG alexdeminaur pic.twitter.com/YU6mn5V5iG

- Quentin Moynet (@QuentinMoynet) January 17, 2021

A mess of training cancellations

The huge island-continent closed its international borders in March and limited the number of its nationals allowed to re-enter the country each week.

Unlike returnees, the majority of Australian Open qualified players are allowed to leave their rooms five hours a day to train.

Finally, when the sessions are not outright canceled, as it seems to be right now.

The Australian Tennis Federation has started delivering devices to allow strictly fortnight players to train as some worry about the risk of injury when they return to the courts during the warm-up tournaments which begin in Melbourne on January 31. .

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