While tennis players participating in the Australian Open are subject to a 14-day lockdown, some of them have reportedly expressed unusual requests to have kittens and puppies in their hotel rooms , to keep them company.
Despite the health context, the Australian Open will open the tennis season from February 8 to 21, 2021 in Melbourne in the presence of the public. Nevertheless, gauges will be imposed as was the case at Roland-Garros this fall: 30,000 spectators per day. Likewise, very strict conditions have been imposed by the Australian government to limit the spread of the Covid-19 virus and the appearance of clusters. Starting with compulsory confinement of all players.
Puppies and kittens to keep the players company?
An imposed confinement which gave rise to unusual requests. Craig Tiley, general manager of the federation and director of the Australian Open, confided on ABCSunday, that some players had had unusual requests and to specify that “the most bizarre request was to have a kitten in the quarantine rooms. And it was not once, it was several times. ” And felines weren’t the only animals claimed. Other players have also reportedly requested to have a puppy in their room, possibly even all kinds of animals.
A request impossible to satisfy due to the health context
The director of the Australian Open specifies that he explained to the players the correlation between the spread of the coronavirus and the kittens making this request difficult to satisfy. On the other hand, other small animals seem all the same to have shared the room of the players whether or not they are wanted.
Indeed, in a tweet dating from January 19, Yulia Putintseva, the 28th player in the world, complains about the presence of many mice in the rooms of the hotel where she was confined.
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