American Sam Querrey risks sanction for violating the Code of Conduct of the Association of Professional Tennis Players (ATP) by leaving Russia without permission after being removed from the St. Petersburg Tennis Open after testing positive for coronavirus, the Russian newspaper Kommersant reported on Thursday.
The ATP, in a statement from the player relations department, indicates, without mentioning the name of the American tennis player, that it is aware of the incident and that he has launched an investigation.
“Players and their support teams have been reminded that violations of (sanitary) protocol can jeopardize events and have an impact on the entire circuit, “he added.
According to Kommersant after testing positive, Querrey, 49th racket in the world, who had to face Canadian Denis Shapoválov in the first round of the St. Petersburg Open, was removed from the tournament and quarantined with his family in a hotel in the city.
However, the tennis player and his companions left the old Russian imperial capital aboard a private plane.
The St. Petersburg Open, which this year rose to the ATP 500 category, distributes more than 1.2 million dollars in prizes.
It is disputed with the public, although due to the epidemic situation, this should not exceed 50 percent of the capacity of the Sibur-Arena complex, the stage of the tournament, with capacity for more than 7,000 spectators.