Tennis star who whinged about quarantine tests POSITIVE to coronavirus while in hotel lockdown for the Australian Open – after infected players flew in from abroad
- Spanish tennis player Paula Badosa has tested positive to coronavirus
- The 23-year-old announced she received a positive test result on Twitter
- Badosa was in hard hotel quarantine but has since been moved to a health hotel
- She said she is ‘feeling unwell’ and suffering ‘some symptoms’ of the virus
A Spanish tennis player who was plunged into hard hotel quarantine ahead of the Australian Open has tested positive to Covid-19.
Paula Badosa, the world No.67, announced on Twitter that she is the latest person associated with the Grand Slam to test positive to coronavirus.
The 23-year-old had previously complained about the tough restrictions on players, brought in after others tested positive on three charter flights to Melbourne.
Now the star said she is ‘feeling unwell’ and suffering ‘some symptoms’ of the virus.
‘I have some bad news,’ Badosa wrote overnight.
‘Today I received a positive Covid-19 test result.
Spanish tennis player Paula Badosa (pictured) announced on Twitter she has tested positive to coronavirus
Badosa is seen in action during her fourth round match against Germany’s Laura Siegemund at the French Open in October 2020
‘I’m feeling unwell and have some symptoms, but I’ll try to recover as soon as possible listening to the doctors.’
The star said she has been taken to a health hotel where she will be monitored.
‘Thanks for your support. We’ll be back stronger,’ she said.
Badosa’s announcement was written in both English and Spanish.
The positive test result comes after Badosa complained about being forced into hard hotel quarantine.
She was among 72 players confined to their Melbourne hotels after passengers on their charter flights – from Abu Dhabi, Doha and Los Angeles – tested positive to coronavirus.
‘I have some bad news,’ Badosa wrote on Twitter. ‘Today I received a positive Covid-19 test result’
The 23-year-old said she is ‘feeling unwell’ and suffering from ‘some symptoms’ of the virus
The players are at a significant disadvantage in preparing for the Open, as other players who were not on those flights are allowed out of their rooms for up to five hours a day to practice.
Badosa moaned about the hard lockdown over the weekend, in a tweet that has since been deleted.
‘At the beginning the rule was the positive section of the plane who was with that person had to quarantine. Not the whole plane,’ she wrote.
‘Not fair to change the rules at the last moment. And to have to stay in a room with no windows and no air.’
Badosa touched down in Melbourne on tournament-chartered flight from Abu Dhabi, where two co-passengers subsequently tested positive.
The positive test result comes after Badosa was forced into hard hotel quarantine. She was among 72 players confined to their Melbourne hotels after passengers on their charter flights – from Abu Dhabi, Doha and Los Angeles – tested positive to coronavirus
On Wednesday, officials reported that ten people who travelled to Australia for the tournament had since tested positive to Covid-19.
But some of those case are likely to be viral shedding, where someone still has the virus in their system but is no longer contagious.
New York-born Badosa is the only competitor to be named as an active coronavirus case.
She has little time to recover and to be fit for the event – which starts on February 8 – after looking forward to making it the starting point for another rise up the rankings in 2021.
Badosa ended 2020 with huge strides, making it to the last-16 at the French Open and reaching a career-high ranking.
This would be her third Australian Open.
Spain’s Paula Badosa plays a shot against Germany’s Laura Siegemund in the fourth round match of the French Open tennis tournament at the Roland Garros stadium in Paris on October 5, 2020
A number of players in Melbourne have taken to social media to complain about their hotel facilities and inability to train properly ahead of the Grand Slam compared to the big guns in South Australia.
The likes of world No.1 Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, Serena Williams and Naomi Osaka have been photographed enjoying the sun on the balconies, while they were able to bring much larger entourages to Australia.
They will play an exhibition in Adelaide on January 31.