Corona infected? No problem at the Australian Open 2023!
Shortly before the start of the first Grand Slam tournament in 2023, Australia is turning around in terms of Corona: Infected players are also allowed to compete.
by SID
last edit: Jan 09, 2023, 02:29 pm
Novak Djokovic will probably never fully digest his spectacular deportation before the start of the Australian Open in 2022. "You can't forget something like that. It's something that will probably stay with you until the end of your life," said the 35-year-old Serb, looking back on the events a year ago. At that time, he was expelled from the country after a long stalemate because of his unclear vaccination status.
Twelve months later, the national association Tennis Australia made a U-turn on Monday when it came to Corona. The head of the association, Craig Tiley, surprisingly announced that from January 16 in Melbourne players who are infected with the corona virus will also be allowed to play their matches. There will be no obligation to test, the organizers rely on the common sense of players and employees.
de Minaur happy about return to normality
"We've made it clear to our players and also to our 12,000+ staff. We've asked that if anyone is feeling sick, they should stay home," Tiley was quoted as saying by Australia's The Age newspaper. Nevertheless, there could "potentially be players who will compete with COVID". The announcement of an infection is also up to the players.
The organizers want to proceed as it is "currently common in society". Australian player Alex de Minaur said players are "happy to be back to where it was before COVID".
worried about the heat
Professor Michael Toole from the Burnet Institute in Melbourne, on the other hand, criticizes this approach. "We're in the middle of a wave, I don't think we should continue to send signal after signal to the public that it's all over because it's not," he was quoted as saying by The Age.
Toole is primarily concerned about the individual players: "Imagine playing tennis on an outdoor court at 35 degrees while you've just caught a virus that affects every organ in the body." When dealing with the health of the players, such a decision is "negligent".
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