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Tennis champions Venus and Serena Williams have been spotted arriving for training in Adelaide ahead of the Australian Open.
The superstar sisters were driven by minibus to the tennis training center on Monday afternoon alongside Serena’s coach Patrick Mouratoglou.
In addition to their fitness attire, former world No.1s and Mouratoglou wore face masks, in line with South Australia’s Covid-19 health mandates for players allowed out of quarantine to train.
The area has been flagged as a ‘no-access red zone’, with state health officials and police guarding the drop zone as tennis stars arrive.
Venus and Serena Williams were first spotted this year arriving to train in Adelaide ahead of the Australian Open
The 23-time Grand Slam winner waited near the vehicle for his trainer Patrick Mouratoglou to exit the vehicle in the front rows
The athletic sisters were transported to the tennis center on Monday afternoon via a white mini bus, which appeared to be carrying other tennis enthusiasts as well.
Venus walked past her companions, carrying a gym bag as she made her way to the facility to begin preparation for the February 8 tournament and exhibition competition before him.
Her younger sister stayed behind to wait for her trainer while he unloaded rackets and other equipment from the white van.
The two men could be seen exchanging words as Mouratoglou loaded bags over his shoulder, before walking past policemen guarding the door to enter the center.
The Grand Slam tournament is in crisis three weeks before the first ball is served with 72 tennis stars isolated in hotel rooms for 14 days and unable to train.
Five passengers on three charter flights to Melbourne carrying players, support staff and broadcast crews have now tested positive for the virus last week.
The infected passengers, including a flight attendant, the coach of Canadian tennis star Bianca Andreescu and a member of a broadcast team, all tested negative before their flight.
Due to Australia’s strict Covid protocols, affected players will now be confined to their hotel rooms for the next 14 days, although they were initially told they could leave five hours a day to train. .
The 23-time Grand Slam winner and her coach could be seen chatting through their face masks next to the white van
Serena stood next to Mouratoglou as he loaded his arms with racquets and other tennis equipment from the trunk of the vehicle
Despite growing pressure from reluctant international players furious about being put into strict quarantine, Australian Open boss Craig Tiley has ruled out delaying the tennis grand slam.
He said they would consider adjusting the schedule for the ATP and WTA tournaments which are due to start in Melbourne on January 31 and February 1.
All international players were initially given an exemption to train for up to five hours a day, however, test results forced the two assigned flights to a more stringent quarantine under Victorian government orders, which sparked complaints of unfair advantage to others.
However, Prime Minister Steven Marshall has warned that tennis stars and support staff currently in quarantine in Adelaide would be subject to South Australia’s strict coronavirus measures if they test positive before an event later this month. -this.
The Williams sisters and other top players in the world, including Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Naomi Osaka, flew to Adelaide last week ahead of a one-day exhibition tournament at Memorial Drive on January 29.
They are all in quarantine at the hotel and have made special arrangements for them to train over the next two weeks.
Prime Minister Steven Marshall says there is no suggestion that any of the players or their support teams have tested positive at this point.
Police officers and public health officials could be seen guarding the drop zone, which was posted in a ‘no access red zone’
But he said if they did, they would be transferred to the dedicated Covid-19 facility in Adelaide with other active infections.
“People who have come to South Australia are under very close scrutiny,” Marshall said on Sunday.
“ We have very strict protocols in place with respect to anyone infected with the coronavirus.
“The reality is that it would be impossible for someone who has contracted this disease to walk in public.
“We would have to have them supervised in a very secure way, there would be no more training for them.
Australia’s international borders have been closed since March 20 and only citizens and permanent residents are allowed entry unless they are granted exemptions – as tennis players do.
Everyone at the site, including tennis stars, appeared to be wearing masks in accordance with the South Australian government’s health recommendations.
All participants must enter 14 days of mandatory hotel quarantine, with Covid testing on days two and 11, but players can train five hours a day during this time.
However, stars around the world have been denied any real chance of success at the Australian Open after positive Covid tests on three charter flights to Melbourne.
Instead of training on the court five hours a day like their competitors, players like Angelique Kerber and Kei Nishikori can’t leave their rooms.
Veteran Uruguayan player Pablo Cuevas filmed himself hitting a tennis ball against a mattress pressed against the wall of his hotel in a desperate attempt to maintain contact.
Spaniard Carreno Busta was horrified by the inedible food and banned from ordering takeout, while Kazakhstan’s number one Yulia Putintseva found a mouse running around her room.
Djokovic, who has flown is not subject to the same strict quarantine, has reportedly called on Tennis Australia boss Craig Tiley to respond to a list of demands.
After Mouratoglou retrieved his bags, Serena and the coach began to make their way into the facility.
Victoria COVID-19 Quarantine Commissioner Emma Cassar said there had been cases of ‘difficult behavior’ from some confined players and support staff, with some players visiting the social media to express their outrage at the quarantine rules.
She cited two cases when they opened their doors to have a conversation or shout in the hallway
Cassar warned that they could be fined up to $ 20,000 or that repeat offenders would be transferred to the complex care hotel where they have a police officer stationed outside their door.
Tiley said the recent threat from the UK strain of the virus has changed the situation, but insisted players know there is a risk of isolation.
The players receive little sympathy from many Australians with thousands of compatriots unable to return home while many Victorians are currently excluded from the state.
Players will earn a minimum of $ 100,000 if they participate in the Australian Open main draw.
Time is running out and more players have yet to arrive who could also be put into strict quarantine and nearly eliminated before the first round.
Venus regained a black athletic back as she walked to the center to prepare for the Grand Slam tournament on February 8
Victorian Prime Minister Daniel Andrews was repeatedly warned in November by tennis officials and star players that this would happen when he was hesitating over players’ arrival dates.
As late as December, it wasn’t clear if the tournament was even going to take place, and then it was pushed back for three weeks and the procrastination continued.
The last plane hit was a Qatar Airways flight out of Doha on Saturday morning where one passenger was infected – ruining the preparation of 25 more players for the Grand Slam, including an Australian.
The Victorian government has come under increasing criticism for its decision to fly 1,200 players and international officials for the last minute tournament.
The infections threaten to derail plans to start the Open in time after Mr Andrews pushes the tournament back three weeks.
From political critics to fiery tirades from locked-in players, tournament and state government officials face a race against time to make the scheduled opening February 8 the start date of the Open.
Tournament organizers face a growing challenge from the 72 players who can go out and train for five hours a day longer as previously agreed.
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