MELBOURNE — All competition at six Australian Open tuneup events scheduled for Thursday was called off after a worker at one of the tournaments’ Melbourne quarantine hotels tested positive for COVID-19.
Players preparing for the year’s first Grand Slam tournament, which is supposed to begin Monday, must isolate at their hotels until they test negative for the illness caused by the coronavirus.
“We will work with everyone involved to facilitate testing as quickly as possible,” Tennis Australia said in a statement announcing the postponement of all matches that were to be played Thursday at Melbourne Park.
Victoria state premier Daniel Andrews said he called a late-night news conference Wednesday to announce the case “through an abundance of caution,” although he did acknowledge new restrictions could impact hundreds of people associated with the Australian Open.