Australian Open buildup shows no sport handling pandemic as clumsily as tennis | Tumaini Carayol


The year’s first grand slam will not produce a fair competition with many players forced to compete without a proper warmup

No tennis player across the world attracts drama like Yulia Putintseva. The story goes that at just 16, she lost in the finals of the US Open junior event, stormed off the court and when officials beckoned her to return she dramatically proclaimed: “It’s not safe to be around me.” She once flipped off an Australian Open crowd on her way out after a loss. Her deliciously petty handshakes, so entertaining for onlookers, are detested across the sport.

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