47 players to skip Melbourne practice due to coronavirus issues

The season's first Major starts in Melbourne on February 8, gathering almost all the world's leading players. Still, the organizers and players have faced problems right after the landing!

The players have been gathering in Melbourne and Adelaide for the last couple of days, and the first coronavirus tests have shown positive passengers from Los Angeles and Abu Dhabi. At the moment, 47 players will not be able to leave their rooms and practice in the next two weeks, including Bianca Andreescu, Belinda Bencic, Maria Sakkari, Victoria Azarenka, Kei Nishikori, Vasek Pospisil and Sloane Stephens.

"One positive COVID-19 test has been returned from a passenger on a charter flight into Melbourne from Abu Dhabi in the past 24 hours. There were 64 people on the flight, including 23 players. All passengers from the flight are already in quarantine hotels and the positive case, who is not a player and had tested negative before the flight, has been transferred to a health hotel.

The 23 players on the flight will not be able to leave their hotel room for 14 days and until they are medically cleared. They will not be eligible to practice," Australian Open organizers stated.