Russian Tennis Tourney Says Infected American Fled on Jet

Sam Querrey left isolation in St. Petersburg with his wife and young son
By Bob Cronin,  Newser Staff
Posted Oct 15, 2020 3:40 PM CDT
US Tennis Pro Allegedly Flees Russia After Positive Test
Sam Querrey makes a forehand return in the Australian Open in January.   (AP Photo/Dita Alangkara, File)

Organizers of a Russian tennis tournament said an American player took a private jet out of the country after testing positive for the coronavirus and being placed in isolation. Sam Querrey and his wife had tested negative last week when they arrived for the St. Petersburg Open, but both tested positive Sunday, the Guardian reports. He was told to isolate in a hotel with his wife and 8-month-old son. When doctors went to check on them Monday, Querrey said his son was sleeping and wouldn't open the door, the tournament said. The family left before an exam scheduled for Tuesday. "Sam Querrey, as the hotel's security cameras identified, left the hotel together with his family at 5:45am on October 13 without informing the reception service," a tournament statement said. "As Querrey told an ATP representative, he left Russia with his family on a private plane."

Querrey and his wife said they had mild symptoms but didn't want to be hospitalized in Russia, a tweet from a New York Times reporter said, adding that they were afraid of being separated from their son. The tour said that it's investigating, though it didn't use Querrey's name, and that "we are taking this matter extremely seriously." Querrey could be fined as much as $100,000 and be suspended from the tour for as long as three years. A 2017 Wimbledon semifinalist in 2017, he's ranked 49th in the world, per CBS, with a 372-304 career singles record. On Wednesday, another tour player tested positive. Fabio Fognini withdrew from a tournament in Sardinia, per Tennis.com, where he was the top seed. The Forte Vilage Sardegna Open said in a statement that Fognini is in isolation, monitored by doctors. (A big-name college football coach is in isolation after his test.)

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