Denis Shapovalov described the United States Tennis Association (USTA) decision to withdraw Guido Pella and Hugo Dellien from the Western & Southern Open after their physiotherapist Juan Manuel Galvan tested positive for Covid-19 as “horrible” and “unacceptable”.
Pella, the world number 35 from Argentina, and Bolivia’s Dellien, ranked 94th, have tested negative for the coronavirus four times since entering a bubble in New York.
But the rules and protocols put in place by the USTA, with the help of New York public health officials and medical advisers, dictate that a player may be withdrawn from a tournament and must quarantine for 14 days based on the findings of the contact tracing investigation conducted after a team member tests positive for the virus.
Pella and Dellien said they had been in close contact with the physio in Florida prior to their departure to New York.
Shapovalov, who is one of the leading talents from the younger generation on the men’s tour, reacted swiftly to the news of Pella and Dellien getting ejected from the tournament and attempted to rally the players in protest.
“Honestly, it’s horrible. I was one of the first people to kind of stand up and be, like, ‘Listen, we’ve got to do something about it. We have to stand up because it’s just unacceptable. It could happen to any player’,” the 21-year-old Canadian said after his straight-sets win over Marin Cilic on Saturday.
“I just think it’s not fair that they didn’t retest [the physio]. There is like, what, a seven per cent chance that it could be a false positive and they don’t even try to retest?
“In the meanwhile, Hugo and Pella, they are both testing negative constantly. So why aren’t you guys letting them play?”
Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray both feel the rules were not communicated to the players properly. They were under the impression that disqualification of a player would only take place if someone they shared a hotel room with tested positive for the virus.
They said that the medical professional who spoke to them in a Zoom call on behalf of the USTA did not mention that contact tracing could lead to a player’s removal from a tournament.
A Q&A document that was distributed to the players specifically indicates that a player can be withdrawn whether or not they were sharing a hotel room with the person who has tested positive.
“That isn’t what we understood the rules to be. Some of the players were saying, ‘Well, I wouldn’t have come with a trainer or a physio if I knew that was the case’,” explained Murray.
“I’m not saying that it’s not the right decision, but the players were not clear as to what the rules actually were. I wasn’t either.”
Djokovic echoed Murray’s sentiments and realises how “tricky” the circumstances are.
“Sometimes it’s out of the hands of USTA and ATP and governing body in tennis, and it’s more up to the health department of New York state, and we have to accept it, I guess,” said the world number one.
Last year’s US Open finalist, Daniil Medvedev, believes the physiotherapist should have been retested, and questions whether the same call would have been made under different circumstances.
“Imagine there is a quarter-final of US Open, I doubt that New York Health Department or USTA will make the same disqualification for somebody who was in [that situation], because they say he was in close contact, but they cannot even know this for sure, because I don’t think they have cameras shown,” said the Russian world number five.
Pella and Dellien’s case has led many players, coaches and other team members to become extra careful when it comes to interacting with others.
Karim Kamoun, the husband and fitness trainer of Tunisian WTA player Ons Jabeur, says he feels “paranoid” and is worried he would become the reason his wife gets excluded from the Western & Southern Open or the US Open, especially that they share a room together.
He says face shields and goggles have been distributed to all coaches and support staff and onsite security told him off the other day for sitting next to Jabeur in the terrace of their own private suite dedicated to their team on Arthur Ashe stadium.
“I’m paranoid of course,” Kamoun told DPA
“Imagine if I get sick. I care about her [Jabeur] more than I care about myself. We are being very careful. I’m always wearing the mask, we always sit at the front of the bus, so we’re the first to get off the bus.
“We are keeping our distance from everyone. We say hi to people from afar.
“It’s not Ons’ fault if one of us tests positive. It’s a real shame that a player is put in this position.”
Pella and Dellien remain isolated at the tournament hotel in preparation for the US Open, which starts on August 31.
Denis Shapovalov of Canada returns a shot to Marin Cilic (not pictured) of Croatia during the Western & Southern Open at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in New York on Saturday. (AFP)
