Olympic champion Belinda Bencic tests positive for COVID-19

Bencic and Ons Jabeur are the third and fourth players to have returned positive after travelling to the Mubadala championship.

Swiss tennis star Belinda Bencic; Credit: Twitter/@BelindaBencic
By Sreejith C R | Dec 22, 2021 | 2 Min Read follow icon Follow Us

Swiss Tennis star Belinda Bencic tested positive for COVID-19 after her trip to Abu Dhabi. It comes just a day after Rafael Nadal announced he had also tested positive. Former World No. 4 and Olympic champion Bencic travelled to Abu Dhabi to play in the Mubadala World Tennis Championship exhibition event last week. She lost to Tunisian Ons Jabeur, who had also tested positive after the match. Jabeur had replaced US Open champion Emma Raducanu after she tested positive and withdrew from the event.

Bencic and Jabeur are the third and fourth players to have returned positive after travelling to the Mubadala championship.

“Unfortunately and even though I am fully vaccinated, I recently tested positive for COVID-19,” Bencic said on Twitter.

“I am currently isolating and taking all precautionary (measures) to get through this as best as possible as I am experiencing quite severe symptoms (fever, aches, chills).

“While the timing is not ideal – as I was in the final stages of my preparations for the Australian Open swing – I will make my way to Australia as soon as I am cleared and past the isolation period.”

The 2021 BBC Sports personality of the year, Raducanu withdrew before the start of the tournament while Nadal and his coach Carlos Moya tested positive on their return to Spain.

Muchova pulls out due to injury

Jabeur, who is isolating in Tunisia, said she was also experiencing “strong symptoms”.

The Abu Dhabi tournament, which also featured Britain’s Andy Murray, often serves as a warm-up event for elite players training in the region before heading to the Australian Open in Melbourne.

In other news, Karolina Muchova, a semi-finalist at the 2021 Australian Open, has withdrawn from next year’s tournament. The 25-year-old hasn’t played due to injury following a first-round loss at the US Open in September.

“I’m sad to announce that my 2022 season will not start in Australia. I’m doing all I can to get back on the court as soon as I’m able,” Muchova wrote on Twitter.





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