US Open 2020: the funny bubble of Flushing Meadows
Benoît Paire was eliminated in the first round of the BNP Paribas Masters tournament at the AccorHotel Arena in Paris.
REUTERS / Kim Kyung-Hoon
Text by: Sarah-Lou Bakouche
5 mins
Tested positive for the coronavirus on Sunday, Benoît Paire was excluded from the US Open.
The Frenchman is now very critical of the health bubble established to preserve the tournament.
Reproaches also formulated by other participants in this 2020 edition.
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"FAKE BUBBLE".
For his first reaction after his expulsion from the US Open, Benoît Paire does not take half measures.
According to the player, 23rd in the world, the sanitary environment put in place to preserve the health of the athletes taking part in the 2020 edition of the US Open is not as ideal as what the organizers like to say.
A "fake bubble"?
"
I'm fine for the moment I have no symptoms ... I hesitate to tell what is really going on in this FAKE BUBBLE
".
These are the very raw words that the French posted in stories on his Instagram account on Monday evening.
Teasing, Benoît Paire put in the background of his story various translations of “
safe environment
”.
Benoit Paire: "I'm fine for now I have no symptoms .. I hesitate to tell what is really going on in this Fake Bubble" https://t.co/aeOYzQqSef
Tumaini Carayol (@tumcarayol) August 31, 2020
The American Tennis Federation (USTA), which organizes the tournament, was quick to respond.
For her, “
it was clearly indicated that the player who contracted the virus did not respect the health protocols approved by the State of New York
”.
This "health bubble" of discord was set up by the USTA therefore, on the model of what was done for the resumption of the NBA and the MLS where the players had found the competition at DisneyWorld in Orlando. in what was the first sports bubble.
A health bubble involves a delimited space where a group of athletes, tested negative for the coronavirus beforehand, agrees to compartmentalize themselves so as not to let the virus enter the bubble.
The teams live there, train and play there.
If the experience was conclusive in Florida, with no case detected in the bubble after four weeks and dozens of games played, the result seems to be very convincing with regard to the Grand Slam tournament ...
The bubble in the bubble… a sufficient solution?
Tested positive for Covid-19 on Sunday, Benoît Paire was excluded from the tournament after having been in contact with several players.
If it is difficult for the moment to give an exact number, we know that five French people are concerned: Mladenovic, Barrère, Gasquet, Roger-Vasselin and Mannarino.
Some of them have already spoken on the subject, like Mannarino, who explained on Monday that some people working at the tournament venue were returning home at night.
For the player, the system set up by the USTA is more of a secure environment than a real bubble.
As regards the athletes who have been in contact with Benoît Paire, they are therefore placed in isolation within this famous bubble.
They are prohibited from driving in their hotel and can go out only for the competition.
Confinement within confinement therefore.
“We already know that this is not a great bubble! "
A rather grotesque situation, which was notably denounced by the American player Noah Rubin.
The 228th in the world questions the relevance of letting athletes who have been in contact with Benoît Paire compete in the tournament.
He worries about it in a podcast published on his website
Behind the Racquet
.
And the tennis player is rather transparent: “
All this work, all this bullshit that you sent us to say that it is a real bubble.
We already know that this is not a super bubble
!
"According to him also therefore, in the bubble"
everyone does what he wants and interacts with whom he wants
.
"
What bubble ?!
If you want to know what is actually taking place at the US Open check out my podcast from a few hours ago.
Most recent news at 10:38 if you want to skip ahead.
https://t.co/TqvqKIgz25
Noah Rubin (@ Noahrubin33) August 31, 2020
If what the tennis players denounce is true, it is therefore not excluded that other cases will arise ... and if this happens, it is difficult to imagine a happy ending for this 2020 edition of the US Open.
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