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Tennis players Shvedova, Tomic in isolation due to coronavirus

hannahwilks in News 16 Mar 2020
Bernard Tomic is among the first players to reveal they are being directly affected by COVID-19 ((Credit Image: © David Kirouac/Icon SMI via ZUMA Press)

Yaroslava Shvedova and Bernard Tomic are among the first players to be isolated due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Shvedova revealed that she is currently in quarantine in Kazakhstan despite testing negative for the virus, while Tomic is self-isolating in Miami.

Kazakhstan’s Shvedova, a three-time Grand Slam singles quarterfinalist and the current player-captain of the Kazakh Fed Cup team, is in quarantine at a hospital in Nur-Sultan.

Shvedova posted a photo on Instagram of herself with a sign reading ‘карантин’ (‘quarantine’).

 

 

In the caption, Shvedova revealed that she had been placed in quarantine after being on a flight with someone infected with COVID-19.

Shvedova wrote:

Hello everyone from the quarantine! ?Many people in Kazakhstan probably heard about the flight from Moscow to Nur-Sultan on March 12th and that on that flight there was a passenger flying from Milan who had a coronavirus. So I was on that flight, flying home to my family from California after Indian Wells was canceled. Not long after arrival I was placed in stationary quarantine like all passengers of that flight. #caronavirus

A state of emergency has been declared in Kazakhstan, where there are currently nine confirmed cases.

An ATP Challenger tournament being played in Nur-Sultan last week was disrupted when several players were forced to abruptly leave the country or be placed in quarantine for 14 days. The tournament was cancelled altogether when the ATP Tour announced an immediate suspension of all its events for six weeks.

Shvedova, a former French Open and Wimbledon quarterfinalist and a two-time Grand Slam champion in doubles, had only recently returned to competition after effectively retiring in 2017 following ankle surgery. She went on to give birth to twins in October 2018.

 

 

In a further update posted on Monday, Shvedova revealed that she had tested negative for the virus but was remaining in quarantine nevertheless because of her proximity to the infected person.

Shvedova wrote:

My test for corona virus is Negative !!!!!?
But I have to stay in quarantine for 2 weeks because I was flying very close to Infected person.?‍♀️? Because 2/3 of the passengers was send for home quarantine.
But im staying positive and active as I can im my room. ?

Meanwhile, Australian player Bernard Tomic revealed that he is in isolation in Miami after showing symptoms of COVID-19.

Tomic told the Herald Sun:

‘Since Tuesday, started feeling not right. I already had shortness of breath and my immune system was low and run down.

‘I’m currently in Miami and isolated away from everyone, as advised. I’m yet to be tested for it but I have all the symptoms.’

A former top-20 player currently ranked world no. 200, Tomic last competed at the Monterrey Challenger two weeks ago, losing to Aleksander Vukic.

‘I reckon I got it travelling from Mexico to Monterrey last week. People need to take this super seriously, especially at home in Australia.

‘I don’t know how long I’ll be in isolation or when I can be tested.’

The BNP Paribas Open, a combined ATP Masters 1000 Series and WTA Premier Mandatory event, was due to be taking place this week but has been cancelled due to coronavirus concerns, as has the Miami Open, which was due to begin on Tuesday 24 March.

The ATP Tour have suspended all tournaments until Monday 27 April at the earliest. The ITF have similarly suspended all tournaments across the various tours they supervise until Monday 20 April at the earliest.

The WTA Tour has not issued a similar blanket suspension, but all scheduled WTA Tour events until Monday 20 April have been cancelled.

Serena Williams wrote on Instagram that she was ‘spending the next 6 weeks in solitude’ with her immediate family. Other players have been sharing their sudden free time with social media: