At least according to “Marki”. Because according to informants of the Spanish newspaper, the removal from the event a day earlier threatened as many as 15 players. Of course because of the coronavirus. The case of coach Dzumhur Petar Popovic should be considered the biggest scandal. Within 35 days, he had 20-25 tests performed and all of them were negative. In Paris, meanwhile, a second study showed a positive result, which meant that the Bosnian tennis player was not allowed to compete in the event. He, of course, was negative. In two other cases, the players were also supposedly “arranged” by the coaches. So they were diagnosed with the virus.
Popović admitted that he underwent COVID-19 in July. He already talked about it with the doctor, and later in an interview with “L’Equipe” he said that in many cases the antibodies lead to positive results. Here, unfortunately, bad luck has come. The organizers had several hours to decide whether to decide on a second test in such a situation. The deadline was approaching before the play-in phase. Ultimately, they did not agree to it. “This is a great scandal,” Popovic told French daily. – We, I am talking about tennis players from further places and their associates, are small and weak, but if Rafael Nadal were in our place, he would not only have the right to a second verification test. He would even be entitled to a third! The coach thundered.
The most interesting, however, was what happened next. Well, journalists investigating health matters said that another tennis player, Serb Krstin, who was also supposed to be isolated, is already in … his homeland. He returned home because French law, unlike the American law used during the US Open, does not prohibit such a man from moving. The organizers are required to inform the airline that the person is at risk of coronavirus, but cannot force them to spend 7 days / 10 days / 14 days in quarantine in France. So Krstin, who theoretically should be in solitary confinement, quietly returned to Belgrade by plane. Before that, he had taken a taxi to Charles de Gaulle airport and had undergone all airport procedures. And if so – why this whole circus?
Tennis players are furious for another reason too. If someone lived in a room with their “infected” coach, they are removed from the vending machine from the tournament. If he hasn’t lived and hasn’t tested positive, he’s still in the ladder. This is absurd, which is heard from many lips right now. On the one hand, this is a blatant injustice, on the other hand, it seems that the Paris bubble is much looser and tolerant than the recent one in New York. There, those who contacted Benoit Paire explained directly that they were later imprisoned.
However, the controversy and outrage in Paris are enormous. Nobody knows the day or the hour. Katarzyna Kawa informed that she wore a mask and was very careful about hygiene. She’s fine and … she’s “positive”. I wonder how many more such cases will be among tennis players in the coming days. And who will suffer because of this in France, and then will be given – or will not be – able to verify and take a second test. Which tennis players will be equal and which will be equal. As in Orwell’s “Animal Farm”. All animals are equal but some animals are more equal than others. All animals are equal, but some are more equal than others. This is what life on professional courts looks like now …
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