Gasquet: “The thing in Palermo is an absolute scandal”

The positive in coronavirus of a tennis player before the WTA tournament in Palermo has once again set off alarms in tennis in full wave of casualties to compete in the US Open such as those of Ashleigh Barty or Nick Kyrgios given the increase in cases that have occurred in the United States.

One of the most critical tennis players with this new positive in Palermo has been the French Richard Gasquet. In an interview with the newspaper L'Équipe, the tennis player was very outraged by the management of the WTA when organizing the tournament. “It is an absolute scandal that the players are in the same hotel as the tourists in Palermo. I don't know how the WTA has accepted this. If you do the tournament, the hotel should be reserved for the players and their coaches. If you can't do it, You cancel the tournament, I don't see it as normal. It is scandalous that the tennis players are in contact with other clients of the hotel. It seems crazy to me and I hope more drastic measures will be taken at the US Open. “

Gasquet asks that the protocol be very strict to guarantee the safety of the tennis players on the circuit. “There will be many players who will be harmed but if the US Open and Roland Garros are not held it will be very difficult. It is not just sport, it is also business. The general interest is to play but the protocol must be drastic. We must respect the rules and be in the hotel and on the premises, and be fined if you go out or do stupid things. The first to do it, go. You choose if you want to go or not, nobody has put a knife to the throat “.

The Frenchman also confirmed his presence at the US Open if it is finally held despite the numerous casualties already announced. “If the US Open is held I will go to New York. I think the most dangerous thing may be the plane trip, but in the New York bubble I will have less risk than in the south of France in August. It's not funny spending three weeks in a hotel. Of course, when we go to New York I prefer to sleep in Manhattan and go to a restaurant for dinner. The important thing is not to endanger anyone during a tennis tournament. “