Tennis chiefs insisted America’s Tennys Sandgren was not a coronavirus risk after he sparked a flurry of concern by tweeting he’d boarded a flight for the Australian Open in Melbourne despite testing positive.
The world No 50 is among more than 1,200 players and support staff arriving in Australia from Thursday for 14 days’ quarantine ahead of the delayed Grand Slam, which is due to start on February 8.
Sandgren sent out a series of tweets before his departure from Los Angeles, initially saying he tested positive on Monday and would miss his flight. It was his second positive result, having originally been diagnosed with Covid-19 in November.
But an hour later he said: “Wow I’m on the plane. Maybe I just held my breath too long. Craig Tiley is a wizard.”
Tiley, the Australian Open tournament director, has spent months trying to deal with the logistical nightmares of hosting the Grand Slam during a pandemic.
Tennis Australia said players were only allowed into…