Victoria Azarenka publishes an “Open letter” amid growing frustration over the quarantine system in Melbourne


Victoria Azarenka publishes an “Open letter” amid growing frustration over the quarantine system in Melbourne
Victoria Azarenka

All players are required to quarantine for 14 days; on arrival in Melbourne ahead of the Australian Open starting on February 8th. However, some players are going through a stricter system after being involved as a close contact following a series of positive cases on their flights to the country. Those deemed close contacts have been asked to stay in their rooms at all times. 

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In a bid to ease tensions amid the frustrated players, last year’s US Open finalist, Victoria Azarenka published an open letter on her Twitter handle in which she is urging both the players and the public to look at the wider picture considering the pandemic.

Sometimes things happen and we need to accept, adapt and keep moving” – Azarenka wrote

Victoria Azarenka

Whilst most players have been contempt with the current quarantine system, there have also been controversies. For this reason Azarenka has called for more empathy from everybody.

The two time Australian Open champion wrote:

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“I would like to ask all my colleagues for co-operation, understanding and empathy for a local community that has been going through a lot of very demanding restrictions that they did not choose, but were forced to follow. I would like to ask to be sensitive as well to the people who have lost their jobs and loved ones during this horrible time for all of us around the world. I would like to ask all of us to have respect for people who work tirelessly to try to make our lives easier,” she wrote.

We have a global pandemic, nobody has a clear playbook of how to operate at full capacity and without a glitch, we all have seen it last year. Sometimes things happen and we need to accept, adapt and keep moving,” she added.

As Azarenka seeks to calm the storm, it has been confirmed that two unnamed players have tested positive for COVID-19 on Tuesday. It is unknown if those who tested positive have been placed in the stricter quarantine system. A third person who is associated with the tournament has also tested positive.

No further details about the positive cases has been provided.

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Also Read: Australian Open 2021: Chaos continues as Monday training sessions canceled