Andy Murray’s participation in the Australian Open has been thrown into doubt after the former champion tested positive for COVID-19.
The former world No.1 was due to travel to Australia on one of the 18 charter flights laid on by tournament organisers, but is still isolating at home.
The 33-year-old was awarded a wildcard by organisers to play in the main draw of the year’s first grand slam in Melbourne, starting February 8.
But Tennis Australia says Murray will not be able to to catch the official charter flights for the tournament after testing positive.
“Andy Murray has advised that he has tested positive for COVID-19 and is isolating at home in the UK,” Tennis Australia said in a statement.
“Unfortunately this means he will be unable to join the official AO charter flights arriving in Australia in the coming days to go through the quarantine period with the other players.
“The AO fans love Andy, and we know how much he loves competing here in Melbourne and how hard he’d worked for this opportunity.”
British media reports say Murray is in good health and still hopes to compete at Melbourne Park in the major, which has been pushed back three weeks because of strict pandemic health measures in Australia.
But even if Murray recovers soon it will be difficult for him to make it to Australia later as players and officials must arrive during a 36-hour window from Thursday and then serve a mandatory isolation of 14 days, as per health protocols.
The players, who will be allowed to spend five hours outside their rooms during quarantine for training purposes and will be tested daily for the virus, will then play warm-up events at Melbourne Park from January 31 before the Australian Open starts.
