Its about the idea of staying in a room for two weeks and being able to compete, said Kostyuk, who could not remember the last time she did not pick up a racket for two weeks. We have to stay in quarantine, but we have to fulfill expectations.
The fast-changing situation and the escalating frustration among the players illustrated just how complicated holding major sports events amid a pandemic can be. Even or perhaps especially in Australia, which has had fewer than 30,000 cases since the pandemic began because it imposes some of the strictest rules of any democratic nation, including severe curtailing of domestic travel.
Tennis Australia is spending tens of millions of dollars on special arrangements to meet government health regulations, but the virus has found ways to hobble even the most expensive plans that sports organizations have come up with to remain in operation.
Tennis Australia chartered 17 flights from seven countries to bring players and support personnel to the tournament, limiting capacity to 25 percent on each plane.
The flight from Abu Dhabi caused the most consternation because it carried players who had competed in the first event of the year on the womens tour, among them Veronika Kudermetova of Russia, who played in the final on Wednesday.
Steve Simon, chief executive of the WTA Tour, participated in one of the videoconferences Saturday but the organization, which represents players and tournaments, has so far deferred to Tennis Australia on the consequences of the new cases.
A spokesman for the organization said the WTA is working with Tennis Australia on the challenges currently being faced with a focus on finding appropriate solutions that support the significant efforts and investment that are being made surrounding the Australian Summer of Tennis.read more
With Positive Tests, the Rules Change for Some Players in Australia
