Top seeds Mladenovic and Babos were withdrawn from the US Open women's doubles competition on Saturday, hours before they were due on court after Mladenovic received a COVID-19 quarantine notice from public health officials
Saturday 5 September 2020 19:55, UK
Kristina Mladenovic and Timea Babos have been withdrawn from the US Open ahead of their second-round match because of COVID-19 restrictions.
The match between the top seeds in the women's doubles Mladenovic and Babos and Gabriela Dabrowski and Alison Riske disappeared from the schedule and tournament organisers later confirmed it was due to a quarantine notice issued to Mladenovic by public health officials in Nassau County, New York.
The Frenchwoman was one of the players who has been subjected to more stringent restrictions because of her close contact with Benoit Paire, who tested positive for Covid-19 on the eve of the tournament.
Mladenovic has been the most outspoken critic of how organisers have handled the situation, describing it as a "nightmare" and saying she felt the affected players were being treated like "prisoners or criminals".
Mladenovic and the other players have until now been allowed to play their matches but the situation has changed with the intervention of the state.
The match between Frenchman Adrian Mannarino, another of those facing restrictions, and Alexander Zverev was delayed for nearly three hours on Friday but Mannarino was eventually allowed to play.
Mladenovic has not been so fortunate, and a statement from tournament organisers read: "Public health officials of Nassau County, (New York), have issued quarantine notices for all individuals who had prolonged close contact to a person who previously tested positive for the COVID-19 coronavirus.
"As the players are staying in Nassau County, the quarantine notices prevent any of these individuals from commuting to the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in New York City.
"The USTA is obligated to adhere to government guidance at the state, city and county level. All persons who were identified as having prolonged close contact with the infected player will quarantine in their rooms for the remainder of their quarantine period.
"Kristina Mladenovic is one of these individuals and, as the women's doubles competition has begun, the women's doubles team of Kristina Mladenovic and Timea Babos has been withdrawn from the US Open."
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