Patrick Carlyon: Tennis players’ insufferable moaning ruining the game

Some Australian Open stars have worn their sense of entitlement like a headband — underscoring shabbier aspects of a wonderful game.

It’s a sad irony that the merit of the hotel quarantine of tennis players has been proven by the positive case of one of its biggest critics.

Spain’s Paula Badosa took to Twitter to protest against her hotel room confines. She had been on the same flight as a coach who tested positive, Sylvain Bruneau.

She bemoaned her room, with no windows or fresh air, apparently unaware that many Victorians have endured the same restrictions on their returns here, and that indeed the city of Melbourne lived in a state of lockdown for many months last year.

So she wanted sympathy? For chasing hundreds of thousands of dollars across the world, then being subjected to the local rules which deprived millions of lives before hers?

Paula Badosa was outraged by her hotel quarantine situation. Picture: AAP

Novak Djokovic demanded restrictions be lifted. Picture: AFP

Roberto Bautista Agut called his hotel quarantine a prison. Picture: AAP

Badosa was joined in her outrage by other players. One called his hotel a prison, before backtracking, in one of several cases where it seemed wiser souls took players aside for a quiet word before they made bigger asses of themselves.

Cue their grovelling apologies.

Badosa has now tested positive. She feels unwell, and we wish her a speedy recovery with no complications.

Yet her unfortunate state of health makes the point. No matter how important the players perceived themselves to be, the collective health of Melbourne always came ahead of their gripes.

There have been a continuing outbreaks of “tools” in the tennis community, to borrow Nick Kyrgios’ label of Novak Djokovic, who demanded that some restrictions be lifted, then doubled down by writing a letter to justify his thinking.

This is the player, mind, who staged a tournament last year, where he and others contracted and spread the deadly disease. He may be a good player, but he’s also a bad bloke.

It’s no surprise that 64 per cent of people, according to a survey, think the Australian Open should be scrapped or postponed.

Some quarantined players have made light of their circumstances, and won fans for their fortitude in trying circumstances.

Yet other players wear their sense of entitlement as they would a headband. Their insufferable carping has underscored the shabbier aspects of a wonderful game; petulance, pique and a lack of respect for the umpire’s call.

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