French tennis star Alize Cornet has made a stunning revelation as apparently there was an outbreak at the French Open but players mutually agreed to stay quiet. The day after suffering a surprise first round loss at the French Open, 2021 French Open champion Barbora Krejcikova announced she tested positive for COVID.
According to Cornet, some players were feeling COVID symptoms and almost certainly more players were positive – but it was kept a secret as players agreed not to test and everything went fine the rest of the tournament.
“At Roland Garros, there was a COVID-19 epidemic, no one talked about it,” Cornet told L’Equipe. “In the locker room, everyone got it and we said nothing. When we see that [Barbora] Krejcikova withdrew saying she had COVID, and that the whole locker room is sick.
At some point. We all might have had the flu. The thing is, we had the three symptoms, [like an] itchy throat, we played and everything was fine, it’s fine. At Roland Garros, yes, I think there have been a few cases and it was a tacit agreement between us.
We are not going to self-test to get into trouble! Afterwards, I saw girls wearing masks, maybe because they knew [they might have it] and didn’t want to pass on. You also have to have a civic spirit”.
Cornet makes a stunning claim in the wake of Wimbledon withdrawals
On Monday, 2017 Wimbledon runner-up Marin Cilic announced he tested positive for COVID.
The day after, 2021 Wimbledon finalist Matteo Berrettini pulled out of the tournament after his COVID test returned as positive. There were two more withdrawals on the women’s side but apparantly Danka Kovinic and Wang Xinyu pulled out due to injuries.
Berrettini and Cilic had been around The All England Club for probably a week and there is a growing fear that it will lead to more positive COVID tests. Meanwhile, Cornet made a winning start to her Wimbledon campaign as she defeated Yulia Putinsteva 6-3 7-6 (5) to progress into the second round.
