Daily US Times: A Spanish tennis player named Paula Badosa who was among many Australian Open competitors to complain about strict quarantine rules, has revealed she has coronavirus.
Paula Badosa said she had felt unwell with Covid symptoms before testing positive for the virus in Melbourne on Thursday.
The 23-year-old player is believed to be the fourth competitor of the Australian Open to test positive for coronavirus in hotel quarantine but is the first to identify herself publicly.
On Friday, Badosa, who is ranked 67th globally in singles, said “sorry guys”, adding quarantine rules were “pivotal”.
She tweeted: “Please, don’t get me wrong. Health will always comes first & I feel grateful for being in Australia.”
She said she had been taken to a separate hotel in Melbourne to “self-isolate and be monitored”.
“I’ll try to recover as soon as possible listening to the doctors,” she added.
On Wednesday, Victoria state health authorities said a total of 10 infections had been linked to the event, but a few were “viral shedding” cases where the person was not infectious.
Melbourne endured one of the world’s longest coronavirus lockdowns last year and many locals have concerns about the potential Covid-19 risk posed by the tournament.
Tennis Australia chartered 15 flights to bring players and their entourages into the country, but three flights had passengers who later tested positive for Covid-19.
The Spaniard is one of 72 players who have been confined full-time to their hotel rooms for 14 days – under a state health order – after the infections were discovered.
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