Australian Open tennis 2021 - 72 players now in quarantine as third flight confirms positive test

ByEurosport

Updated 17/01/2021 at 13:28 GMT

There were already 47 players confined to their hotel rooms in Melbourne, but that list has grown to 72 with a positive coronavirus case confirmed on a third flight entering the Australian city from Doha. The news comes after tournament director Craig Tiley confirmed tennis' first Grand Slam of the year will go ahead as planned on February 8.

Staff chat at a hotel in Melbourne where players are quarantining for two weeks ahead of the Australian Open

Image credit: Getty Images

A third flight into Melbourne has confirmed a positive Covid-19 test on arrival from Doha ahead of the Australian Open which starts on February 8.

It means another flight-load of people have been added to the 47 players and their entourages currently isolating for two weeks in their hotel rooms ahead of the first Grand Slam of the season. There are now 72 players in hard quarantine.

Those impacted cannot leave their rooms to train after infections were reported on Saturday on two chartered flights carrying them to the tournament's host city from Los Angeles and Abu Dhabi.

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Other players who arrived in different planes are also undertaking a mandatory 14-day quarantine but are permitted to leave their hotels for five hours a day to train.

Australian Open tournament director Craig Tiley has confirmed the year's first Grand Slam will go ahead from February 8 despite anger from players forced into hard quarantine.

A broadcaster on the flight from Los Angeles had tested positive, adding to an aircrew member and a tennis coach on the same plane who were reported on Saturday.

The other case was Sylvain Bruneau, the coach of women's 2019 US Open champion Bianca Andreescu.

Bruneau was a passenger on a charter flight carrying 23 players from Abu Dhabi.