Aussie Tennis Player Tells Umpire He Will Test Positive For Covid While Losing Match

A tennis player was seen complaining to the umpire during a match, saying he will 'test positive for Covid'.

Bernard Tomic was competing in the qualifying round of the Australian Open this week and hit out at the event's organisers over a lack of proper testing.

The 29-year-old star was 2-1 down in the second set against Russia's Roman Safiullin when he used a break in play to tell the umpire that he was certain he had Covid.

In footage shared on social media, the Australian says: "For sure, in the next two days I'll test positive, I'm telling you.

"I'll buy you dinner if I don't test positive in three days. Otherwise, you buy me dinner.

"I can't believe nobody is getting tested. They're allowing players to come onto the court with rapid tests in their room... come on. No official PCR testing."

Watch below:

Tomic went on to lose the match 6-1, 6-4 and didn't speak to the press after leaving the court.

However, he shared a post on social media, in which he claimed he was unwell and was isolating.

He wrote: "Feeling really sick, I'm now back in my hotel room.

"Just spoke to the doctors on site and they've asked me to isolate. They couldn't treat me yet to avoid contact."

This is the latest Covid -related incident to rock the tournament in recent days.

Yesterday (10 January), Novak Djokovic won his appeal to stay in Australia after having been refused entry last week.

The 34-year-old, who is unvaccinated, claimed that he had been given a special exemption to play in the tournament.

Under Victoria's state rules, players must either be jabbed or have a valid medical reason for an exemption in order to play.

Djokovic's lawyers had told the court that he had contracted Covid twice previously, the last time in December 2021, which fits within the tournament's guidelines.

Following the ruling, he has been granted entry and is training ahead of his first match.

However, he might not be out of the woods just yet.

An investigation is reportedly being launched into the documentation the Serbian submitted to enter the country.

According to reports, the player may have incorrectly ticked a box indicating that he hadn't travelled in the 14 days prior to landing in Australia on 6 January.

This stems from a social media post shared by the player, which seems to show Djokovic in Marbella, Spain, during that two-week period.

Other photos also show Djokovic training in Spain on 2 January.

But this is not all, questions have also been raised over the 20-time Grand Slam winner's behaviour after he revealed that he had tested positive for Covid on 16 September.

Another social media post appears to show Djokovic at a tennis event with young children on 17 December, which is when he should have been isolating.

Featured Image Credit: Twitter

Topics: Australia, World News