Japan’s Nishikori tests positive for COVID-19 ahead of U.S. Open

Kampala, Uganda | XINHUA |  Japanese tennis player and former U.S. Open runner-up Kei Nishikori said Sunday he has contracted COVID-19 and has withdrawn from the Western & Southern Open that starts next week.

“I have some unfortunate news,” Nishikori said through social media. “This morning while still in Florida, I got tested for COVID-19 and tested positive.”

Based in Florida, Nishikori had planned to fly to New York on Monday for the Western and Southern Open, an event usually played in Cincinnati but moved to the U.S. Open site in New York because of COVID-19. The two events will be both played at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows.

“I will have to pull out of the Cincinnati tournament at this time,” Nishikori said. “I am feeling well and have very little symptoms but will obviously be in complete isolation for the safety of everyone.”

In the 2014 U.S. Open, Nishikori reached the final but lost to Croatia’s Marin Cilic.

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XINHUA