A tennis player has tested positive for the novel coronavirus ahead of the U.S. Open tournament, the United States Tennis Association (USTA) says.
In a statement posted to Twitter Sunday morning, the USTA confirmed the player who tested positive for COVID-19 has withdrawn from the tournament.
“The USTA, together with its medical advisors and infectious disease specialist from the Mount Sinai Health System, confirmed a positive test result for a player,” the statement reads.
The association did not name the player but said they are asymptomatic.
According to the USTA, the player has been told to isolate for at least 10 days, and contact tracing is being done to determine if anyone else needs to quarantine for 14 days.
The U.S. Open is scheduled to begin on Monday and will run until Sept. 13.
The Grand Slam tournament will be held at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Centre in New York City.
The tournament normally draws hundreds of thousands of spectators, however, no fans will be permitted to watch the matches in person this year amid the COVID-19 outbreak.
Spain’s Rafael Nadal, who won the tournament’s men’s singles title in 2019, has opted not to play this year.
“After many thoughts, I have decided not to play this year’s US Open,” Nadal wrote in a tweet earlier this month. “The situation is very complicated worldwide, the COVID-19 cases are increasing, it looks like we still don’t have control of it.”
He said this is a decision he “never wanted to take.”
“But I have decided to follow my heart this time and for the time being I rather not travel,” he wrote.
Canadian Bianca Andreescu — the women’s singles defending champion — also decided not to compete this year.
In a statement posted to Twitter, Andreescu said: “unforeseen challenges, including the COVID pandemic,” have compromised her ability to prepare.
“I have taken this step in order to focus on my match fitness and ensure that I return ready to play at my highest level,” she wrote.
-More to come.
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