Italian tennis player Simone Bolelli, left, and Argentina's Maximo Gonzalez are escorted to their training session in Melbourne, Australia, Monday, Jan. 18, 2021.
The number of players in hard quarantine swelled to 72 ahead of the Australian Open after a fifth positive coronavirus test was returned from the charter flights bringing players, coaches, officials and media to Melbourne for the season-opening tennis major.
Some players have expressed anger at being classified as close contacts merely for being on board those flights with people who later tested positive.
But local government, tennis and health authorities have said all players were warned of the risks in advance.
The Australian Open starts Feb. 8 following a week of warmup tournaments at Melbourne Park and the ATP Cup.