GB's Heather Watson finds novel way to train while isolating ahead of the Australian Open - completing 5k in hotel room
GB tennis player Heather Watson has shared a video of her finding a way to keep training while under isolation ahead of the Australian Open.
She shared a video of her completing a 5km run in her hotel room where she has been instructed to quarantine for 14 days.
Ms Watson tweeted on Saturday that she had been told to isolate after a passenger on her flight from Abu Dhabi returned a positive coronavirus test.
She is among 72 players who are having to isolate in hotel rooms following positive tests for coronavirus on flights that had taken them to the country.
Other pro players have also shared their inventive ways to train under quarantine including Yulia Putintseva, Pablo Cuevas and Belinda Bencic, who are using their hotel rooms to rally tennis balls against wardrobe, windows and even a mattress.
Russians Daria Kasatkina and Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova put together a Rocky inspired montage.
Others self-isolating include grand slam champions Victoria Azarenka, Angelique Kerber and Bianca Andreescu, whose coach Sylvain Bruneau revealed he was the source of one of the positive tests.
Last week, Andy Murray's participation in the upcoming Australian Open was thrown into doubt after he tested positive for Covid-19.
The players should be out of isolation before the week of warm-up events begins on January 31 but they will clearly not be in peak condition to compete.
Other players not required to quarantine will be allowed to practice for five hours daily.
Some players have expressed anger at being classified as close contacts merely for being on board those flights with people who later tested positive.
But local government, tennis and health authorities have said all players were warned of the risks in advance.
“There’s been a bit of chatter from a number of players about the rules - well, the rules apply to them as they apply to everybody else, and they were all briefed on that before they came and that was a condition on which they came,” Victoria state premier Daniel Andrews told a news conference Monday. “There’s no special treatment here ... because a virus doesn’t treat you specially.”
Responding to reports that eight-time Australian Open champion Novak Djokovic had proposed a list of ideas to change the quarantine conditions for players, Mr Andrews said: “People are free to provide lists of demands but the answer is no.”
Players have been warned that breaching of the rules could result in heavy fines or being moved to a more secure quarantine complex with police stationed at their doors.
Australian Open director Craig Tiley has dismissed any suggestion the tournament, which has already been pushed back by three weeks, could be delayed further but said the players will be supported in any way possible, including with the delivery of exercise equipment to their rooms.