(Reuters) – France’s Benoit Paire has tested positive for COVID-19 and will have to pull out of the U.S. Open starting on Monday, French sports daily L’Equipe https://www.lequipe.fr/Tennis/Actualites/Coronavirus-benoit-paire-teste-positif-et-forfait-pour-l-us-open/1166240 reported on Sunday.
Paire, seeded 17th at the Grand Slam event, was scheduled to play Poland’s Kamil Majchrzak in the first round at Flushing Meadows on Tuesday.
The 31-year-old arrived in New York to play the Western & Southern Open last week, a tune-up for the U.S. Open, but he did not complete his first-round match against Croatia’s Borna Coric.
Paire appeared to be unwell during the match, asking for a doctor in the opening set before retiring in the second while trailing 6-0 1-0.
The U.S. Open is being played without fans and in a biosecure bubble due to the pandemic, but several high-ranking players skipped the tournament due to coronavirus concerns.
(Reporting by Rohith Nair in Bengaluru, editing by Ed Osmond)
