Rising Italian star Lorenzo Musetti was made to withdraw from the ATP event in Toronto due to a virus protocol breach.
The players are supposed to stay in a bio-secure bubble during the tournament but Musetti breached it by going to a nearby restaurant to collect his food.
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He was supposed to play in the qualifying event.
“Tennis Canada and ATP can confirm that Lorenzo Musetti has been withdrawn from the National Bank Open presented by Rogers qualifying draw,” a tournament statement read.
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“According to the tournament we violated the protocol because we went to collect the food fifty meters from the hotel where we are staying, ” his coach Simone Tartarini told UBItennis.com.
“Here the meals are all ‘packed’, from breakfast to dinner, so we booked dinner from a restaurant which is just fifty meters from the hotel.
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“The credit card delivery did not work, so we went to collect the food with the machine they gave us, without mixing with anyone and without having contact with the outside world; when we returned, after dinner, they (officials) approached us to tell us about the violation of the protocol.”
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Musetti and his coach were made to isolate in their hotel room for two days before the tournament organiser asked them to withdraw from the event.
The World No 60 will be replaced by alternate Max Purcell.
