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US Open Arthur Ashe court

‘US Open injustice has left me sad, sitting in my kitchen crying,’ says star after ejection from tournament


Timea Babos says she has been left feeling ‘sad and crying’ after she and partner Kristina Mladenovic were prevented from playing in the US Open doubles.

The duo were the top seeds at Flushing Meadows, but hours before their second round match was due to start Mladenovic was hit with a quarantine notice from public health officials due to contact with Banoit Paire, who had tested positive for Covid.

As a result, opponents Alison Riske and Gabriela Dabrowski were awarded a walkover, leaving Babos to return home.

“I got home. I’m sitting here in my kitchen and crying.

“I haven’t really had time for anything so far, so now I’m just starting to realise what happened and I just don’t understand. It’s terribly unfair all over, I don’t see any acceptable reason why this should have been the case.

Timea Babos - US Open fury

“Let’s look at the facts: Benoit Paire’s positive test dated back ten days before (after 4 negatives) and in recent days his results were negative.

“The others close to him have never tested positive. Kiki (Mladenovic) has had 11 — repeat 11 — negative tests for Covid-19. And yet, we were locked up.

Babos’s sense of injustice was further heightened by Andrian Mannarino being allowed to play his US Open singles match in identical circumstances.

“On Friday they went out of their way to ensure that Mannarino could play. He was allowed to play and, the next day, we were not.

“It is simply an injustice! Incomprehensible! It’s not fair.”

Babos said she had been in two minds about whether to compete in this year’s US Open, which several players have skipped citing concerns over COVID-19.

“They deprived us of a chance to lift a Grand Slam trophy, not to mention the material side and the psychological damage!

 

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HazaĂ©rtem. Itt ĂĽlök a konyhámban Ă©s sĂ­rok… Eddig nem igazán volt idĹ‘m semmire, Ă­gy most kezdem csak felfogni, hogy mi is törtĂ©nt Ă©s egyszerűen nem Ă©rtem. BorzasztĂł igazságtalan az egĂ©sz, nem látok semmilyen elfogadhatĂł indokot, hogy ennek miĂ©rt kellett Ă­gy lennie. NĂ©zzĂĽk a tĂ©nyeket: Benoit Paire PCR tesztje nagyjábĂłl 10napja lett pozitĂ­v(4negatĂ­v után), de az elmĂşlt napokban már rendre negatĂ­v eredmĂ©nyt kapott vissza. A többi hozzá ,,közel állĂł,, embernek soha nem is volt pozitĂ­v tesztje. Nekem 4, mĂ­g Kikinek 11, mĂ©gegyszer mondom 11!!! negatĂ­v Covid19 tesztje volt. MĂ©gis kizártak minket. Kizártak minket mĂ©ghozzá Ăşgy, hogy már mindenki lejátszotta az összes meccsĂ©t, csak mi maradtunk versenyben. PĂ©nteken már vacilláltak, hogy Mannarinot engedjĂ©k-e játszani, Ĺ‘t engedtĂ©k aznap, minket másnap nem. Egyszerűen igazságtalanság! Érthetetlen! Nem fair Ă©s mĂ©g sorolhatnám. ElsĹ‘ kiemeltek voltunk egy Grand Slam tornán. Sokat agyaltam már azon is, hogy egyáltalán kiutazzak-e vagy sem, sok kĂ©rdĹ‘jel volt bennem. De sportolĂł vagyok, versenyezni akartam. AmĂşgy is mindig gyĹ‘zni megyek/megyĂĽnk az adott versenyre Ă©s valljuk be Ĺ‘szintĂ©n, hogy erre mindig jĂł esĂ©lyĂĽnk van. ElvettĂ©k egy GS trĂłfea felemelĂ©sĂ©nek a lehetĹ‘sĂ©gĂ©t, nem is beszĂ©lve az anyagi Ă©s lelki károkrĂłl! De miĂ©rt? Nem tudom, nem Ă©rtem… TĂ©nyleg nem… • (BĹ‘vebben az nso-n olvashattok a törtĂ©ntekrĹ‘l)

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“But why? I don’t know, I don’t understand.”

Mladenovic had already described the US Open ‘bubble within the bubble; like “living a nightmare” as she was restricted to her room and prevented from even practising ahead of her singles matches.


Michael Graham, Tennishead.net Editor, has been a professional sports journalist for his whole career and is especially passionate about tennis. He's been the Editor of Tennishead.net for over 5 years and loves watching live tennis by visiting as many tournaments as possible. Michael specialises in writing in-depth features about the ATP & WTA tours.