Abu Dhabi ends up as COVID Central with multiple positives

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Who knew it was an omen when US Open champion Emma Raducanu – the first player announced for the Abu Dhabi exhibition two weeks ago – was the first to announce a positive COVID-19 test?

The 19-year-old Brit, slated to play a one-off match against Olympic gold medallist Belinda Bencic in a bit of lip service to the women’s game, tested positive upon arrival in Abu Dhabi and was out.

The floodgates opened.

As the players wrapped up their matches, they either headed home briefly, or made the trek Down Under. And one by one, most of them ended up catching the virus.

Belinda Bencic, who was to face Raducanu, got it.

So did Tunisia’s Ons Jabeur, who replaced Raducanu and defeated Bencic in the women’s match.

Then Rafael Nadal announced a positive test. His coach Carlos Moya was positive, too. And then, on Tuesday, word came out that his second coach – on the job just a few weeks – Marc Lopez also picked up the virus.

It was reported that a member of Andy Murray’s team (though not Murray himself, who has had COVID and just received his booster shot a few days ago) also tested positive.

Canadian Denis Shapovalov tested positive on arrival in Sydney to prepare for the ATP Cup.

Rublev the most recent positive

And then Andrey Rublev, who had been vaccine-hesitant early in the season but finally got the jab after the Davis Cup Finals, came up with a positive test in Barcelona.

Only Murray and the two substitutes – Dan Evans and Taylor Fritz filled in for Dominic Thiem and Casper Ruud – have not reported a positive test.

Needless to say, all these positive cases are seriously compromising the ability of the players to prepare and do well at the upcoming Australian Open.

Nadal, in particular, had been planning to return in Melbourne. But the need to isolate and lose that precious time has him re-evaluating.

Most, if not all, of the players and coaches were vaccinated. So they likely will escape the worst the virus has to offer.

Still, it’s far from nothing.

pic.twitter.com/lJMMgxmef0

— Belinda Bencic (@BelindaBencic) December 21, 2021

There were masks in evidence a fair bit, from what you could see from the event remotely.

But there is precious little information about testing protocols there. Or whether the event staff were vaccinated. Or anything.

Nadal did say that he had been tested twice in Abu Dhabi – the last time on the Friday. And he was negative both times.

It’s astonishing that there is simply nothing in the Middle East media about this. The National, Abu Dhabi’s English newspaper, has plenty of business stories about Mubadala, the title sponsor. It has game stories from the matches, and a cut-and-paste of the press release about Raducanu’s withdrawal because of the positive test.

And that’s it.

Heard that trial from Murray – Jan de Witt was good – they decided to continue their work in Australia (then want to decide again)

Plan was to travel to Australia on 27th – but like other teams (Nadal) their has been a positive test (not Murray so far)

Need a new travelplan…

— Jannik Schneider (@schnejan) December 23, 2021

UAE media silent on the issue

The UAE’s Gulf News reported Raducanu’s withdrawal, and posted the Washington Post story on Nadal’s positive test.

It feels as though they should be taking a good, hard look at this situation which, even by the standards of the extreme transmissibility of the omicron variant, feels off the charts.

The emirate hosts a lot of sporting events (a lot of events, period).

The Davis Cup Finals were due to announce they’d be moving their beleaguered event there for a five-year term, only to postpone that announcement the Davis Cup Finals earlier this month.

Is this not a story?

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