Benoit Paire provides coronavirus scare for the US Open after testing positive

Notoriously sociable French player Benoit Paire provided a Covid scare for the US Open when he tested positive on the eve of the tournament.

Several of his compatriots, such as Richard Gasquet, were immediately told to confine themselves to their hotel rooms after the test was discovered.

Paire, who only arrived in New York last Tuesday, was quickly withdrawn from the tournament and put into isolation. He had already undergone several negative tests in the past week.

Frenchman Benoit Paire has tested positive for coronavirus on the eve of the US Open

Paire, who arrived in New York last Tuesday, was quickly withdrawn from the tournament

Several of Paire’s team-mates, such as Richard Gasquet, were told to stay in their hotel rooms

The extrovert 31 year-old from Avignon is known for enjoying his social life and is sure to have been mixing with others in the common areas of the bio-secure hotel where has been staying.

Meanwhile Wimbledon and the other three Grand Slams will be on alert after Novak Djokovic and his allies pushed through their idea of setting up a new male players’ association.

A Saturday night meeting in New York saw more than 60 of the men playing in this week’s US Open sign up for the new ‘union’ designed to more clearly press their own interests.

Novak Djokovic and his allies pushed through their idea of setting up a new male players’ association

Defying calls from Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal and various governing bodies for restraint and unity, they will seek to become a new force in the already fractured governance structure of the global game.

While there may not be any immediate impact, a long-term goal of the new grouping is sure to be a push for increased prize money, especially at the Grand Slams.

At present the hugely profitable Big Four events offer roughly 15-18% of their gross revenues to pay the players, which some believe is not enough. This despite the fact that first round singles losers are now paid in excess of £40,000, not to mention the huge investment programmes that the four venues have seen in recent years.

One of the main ringleaders, Canada’s Vasek Pospisil struck a conciliatory tone, saying, ‘The Professional Tennis Players Association (PTPA) did not emerge to be combative, to disrupt, or to cause any issues within or outside the tennis tour. Simply to unify the players, have our voices heard & have an impact on decisions being made that affect our lives.’ 

Canada’s Vasek Pospisi stressed that the PTPA did not emerge to be combative or cause issues

Yet many players have clearly held off from signing up, at least for now, and it is understood that includes all the British men eligible to join.

Among those who posed on Arthur Ashe Stadium for a picture to mark the beginning of the first tennis players’ union since 1972 were some of the higher profile names, headed by Djokovic.

The notables included John Isner and Grigor Dimitrov plus two of the biggest stars of the future, Canadians Denis Shapovalov and Felix-Auger-Aliassime.