Thiago Seyboth Wild has become the first tennis player to test positive for coronavirus. Last month, the 20-year-old Brazilian won his first ATP Tour title with victory at the Chile Open.
But the world No 114 has revealed he has been in self-isolation after showing symptoms of the deadly disease 10 days ago.
“Hey, guys, I just want to let you know that I’ve contracted the Covid-19, but I have self-isolated myself for the past week,” Wild said in a video message.
“And I’ve been taking care of myself and following the doctor’s instructions.
“This is just a reminder for you all to stay at home to take care of the people you love and help us out, you know, to not spread this disease, stay home and stay safe.”
The ATP Tour has been suspended until June 8 as a result of the global pandemic.
It remains to be seen if tennis will resume on that date with fears it could be extended if the situation fails to improve.
Speaking in an interview with the ATP, its chairman Andrea Gaudenzi said the target was to start again for the grass-court season.
“Unfortunately, the repercussions from the COVID-19 pandemic are being felt across all areas of society, as well as by our players, tournaments, and the Tour,” said Gaudenzi.
“This is bigger than any sport. The current situation raises many questions which we empathize with greatly, and we are working hard on evaluating all options.
“Our ability to address any supportive measures will be best guided once we know the duration of the crisis and when the Tour will resume, which remains unknown at this time.
“This remains an evolving situation that will require significant time to deal with in the coming weeks and months, and we must avoid making any rushed decisions without knowing first when the crisis will end.
“Understanding the full duration and scale of this crisis will be critical to addressing any measures related to its repercussions.
“We continue to assess all options related to preserving and maximising the calendar based on various return dates for the Tour.
“It goes without saying that full cooperation with the other governing bodies is essential. We are in close discussion with all the grass-court events and they remain on the calendar as scheduled at this time.
“The reality is this is a rapidly evolving situation and there is no option other than to take this day-by-day and week-by-week.”
