“At Roland Garros, there was a COVID-19 epidemic, no one talked about it,” she told L’Equipe. “In the locker room, everyone got it and we said nothing...”
“When we see that [Barbora] Krejcikova withdrew saying she had COVID, and that the whole locker room is sick. At some point... We all might have had the flu. The thing is, we had the three symptoms, [like an] itchy throat, we played and everything was fine, it's fine.
“At Roland Garros, yes, I think there have been a few cases and it was a tacit agreement between us. We are not going to self-test to get into trouble! Afterwards, I saw girls wearing masks, maybe because they knew [they might have it] and didn't want to pass on. You also have to have a civic spirit.”
The revelation comes after Berrettini withdrew due to a positive COVID test, one day after Marin Cilic also tested positive and withdrew. The incidents had sparked fear of a possible outbreak at Wimbledon, and the potential for more strict health protocols.
The allegation of a full-blown COVID-19 “epidemic” in the Roland Garros locker room is probably (hopefully?) an over-exaggeration—there are plenty of other illnesses that cause similar symptoms, and if all the players indeed quietly agreed to stop self-testing then it’s hard to know what they each came down with. It’s also worth noting that multiple players in Paris did withdraw due to COVID-19, including Krejcikova and Marie Bouzkova. So there wasn’t a total pact of silence from players—though Cornet noted that it was precipitated by the defending champion's withdrawal.
But Cornet’s comments nonetheless have sent shockwaves around an All-England Club that’s already reeling after two confirmed cases.
