
With the recent news of positive cases attacking the US Open, it comes as no surprise that the preceding Western and Southern Opens are facing the same issues.
Despite the severity of this pandemic, however, these essential protocols are being burned with hate – especially by players who should be grateful for their protection. It always seems to be the ones who have no connection to the danger they are cushioned from that have the loudest opposition.
Argentinian star Diego Schwartzman has now decided to follow in the fiery footsteps of Novak Djokovic, who hosted the incredibly unsafe Atria Tour earlier this summer. In the case of Diego, he has certainly made his voice heard over fellow players Guido Pella and Hugo Dellien being forced into quarantine because of their trainer’s positive test result.
His recent interview on the issue was nothing short of furious: “They lied to our faces… They said that there would be no retaliation for anyone who tested positive.”
The important keyword here is retaliation. So much anger lies in the connotation here and completely erases the logic behind taking such protocols. No one is punishing anyone; the United States Tennis Association simply wants to stop the spread of a disease many pass off as a farce. There is no petty ulterior motive here!
He continues to argue that “there are many people who tested false positive” and demands a reconsideration, but this is an incredibly generalized statement. According to studies done by Havard, the chance of a false positive is a measly 5%; there would be a larger chance of a false negative, which is an unnerving reality.
All of this controversy could easily be avoided if this pandemic was truly taken seriously. At the end of the day, does it kill a professional player making plenty to quarantine for the sake of others? Does it hurt to put the mask over the nose too? Society apparently says it does.
