Just days into this year’s French Open, a men’s doubles team has tested positive for the virus and has been withdrawn from the Grand Slam.
“The Roland Garros tournament organisers confirm that two players from the Men’s doubles draw, on the same team, have tested positive,” the French Tennis Federation (FTF), said in a statement.
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“In line with the tournament’s public health and safety protocol, the pair have been removed from the draw… and the two players placed in quarantine.
“They will be replaced by the first team on the alternate list.
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“This is the first occurrence in which the tournament organisers must remove players, in accordance with their health protocol.
“As a reminder, the health of all tournament players and that of their teams is continuously monitored through very regular testing, and they live and train in socially-distanced ‘bubbles.’”
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The FTF reportedly conducted around 2,446 tests on players since the qualifying rounds started on May 24. On Wednesday night however, the first positive cases were detected.
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The organisers did not name the players in their statement. However, there is a possibility that it could have been the Croatian pair of Mate Pavic and Nikola Mektic. Ranked No 1 and 2 in the world respectively, the duo would have been the top seeds in the men’s doubles draw.
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They were replaced by the Spanish team of Pablo Andujar and Pedro Martinez.
There is also a possibility that the positive cases may have been that of Spaniards Jaume Munar and Feliciano Lopez – who were expected to play Pavic and Mektic in the first round.
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So far, no team has replaced the Munar-Lopez duo, and the entry remains as ‘alternative’ on the French Open website.
