New York (AFP)
A first positive case of coronavirus, but neither a player, nor a player, was identified in the New York bubble of Flushing Meadows where the Cincinnati tournament and then the US Open are to take place, the American Tennis Federation announced on Tuesday. (USTA).
"An individual, who is not a player, tested positive for Covid-19 in the controlled environment" of the Billie Jean King National Center, said the USTA, specifying that the affected person "was asymptomatic".
This positive result is the only one of the 1,400 tests carried out since August 13 in the bubble.
"In accordance with New York State Department of Health and Center for Disease Control (CDC) guidelines, and tournament health and safety protocols, the individual must observe at least 10 days of quarantine," is it added.
"In addition, the search for people who have been in contact with the individual who tested positive has been launched to determine whether someone should quarantine themselves for 14 days," the statement concluded.
Four days before the start of the Cincinnati tournament, relocated to New York, and before the US Open scheduled from August 31 on the same site, this first positive case shows that the threat of the coronavirus does more than hover over these two big meetings.
Many stars have already decided to ignore the risks associated with the galloping pandemic in the United States, starting with world No. 2 and US Open title holder Rafael Nadal, as well as Gaël Monfils (N.9), Fabio Fognini (N.11) and Stan Wawrinka (N.17).
On the women's side, world No. 1 Ashleigh Barty, Simona Halep (No. 2) and defending champion Bianca Andreescu (No. 6) will also be absent.
In the radius of the present, the world No.1 Novak Djokovic will seek an 18th major title, with as main rivals Dominic Thiem (N.3), Daniil Medvedev (N.5, defending champion in Cincinnati and finalist of the US Open) , Stefanos Tsitsipas (N.6) and Alexander Zverev (N.7).
In the WTA Top 10, there will be only four players: Czech Karolina Pliskova (N.3), Americans Sofia Kenin (N.4) and Serena Williams (N.9), Japanese Naomi Osaka ( N.10).
© 2020 AFP