Lockdown: Tennis players getting on with life in Australia

With no way out, tennis players in lockdown are figuring out ways to keep themselves fit within the confines of their Melbourne hotel rooms as they prepare for the Australian Open.

Angelique Kerber, who won the Australian Open in 2016, spent her birthday in quarantine on Monday. At times in the past, she's spent the day playing or preparing for matches in the later stages of the tournament.

This year, with the season-opening Grand Slam event not starting until Feb. 8 because of travel restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic, she had to settle for a message posted on social media by Australian Open organizers to mark the occasion.

Kerber is among the 72 players doing hard quarantine for 14 days after a five positive coronavirus tests were returned from charter flights that brought almost 1,200 players, coaches, officials and media to Melbourne for what has previously been dubbed the Happy Slam.

That means those players won’t be allowed to leave their hotel rooms or practice for 14 days, creating a two-speed preparation period for the tournament. Others in less rigorous quarantine will be allowed to practice for five hours daily.

Those outdoor sessions started Monday in Melbourne. A smaller group of players who landed in the South Australia capital of Adelaide, including Serena Williams, Naomi Osaka, Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal, are also allowed outside to practice under bio-secure protocols.

Players such as Yulia Putintseva and Belinda Bencic initially complained in social media posts about being ill informed of the quarantine rules but have found ways to practice indoors by hitting balls against walls and windows and setting up other unique sessions.

Some players have expressed anger at being classified as close contacts merely for being on board charter...