French player Benoit Paire removed from U.S. Open after testing positive for coronavirus

French tennis player Benoit Paire was removed from the U.S. Open on Sunday after testing positive for the coronavirus.

The United States Tennis Association announced in the morning that an unnamed player had tested positive and “had been withdrawn,” but the French sporting newspaper L'Equipe reported it was Paire, who was the 17th seed in the Open that begins on Monday without spectators during the pandemic. The USTA said the player was asymptomatic.

Paire is the first player to test positive during the three weeks of play at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center which included the Western & Southern Open which concluded on Saturday.

Contact tracing was initiated in Paire’s case to find out who was closely exposed to him and also needs to be quarantined. Citing New York State Department of Health COVID-19 protocols, the USTA said the player must isolate for 10 days.

Paire was scheduled to play Kamil Majchrzak of Poland in his first-round match on Tuesday, but the official draw shows he has been replaced by Marcel Granollers of Spain. Paire retired in the second set of his match against Borna Coric in the W&S.

On Aug. 20, the USTA announced a positive test during the W&S but did not identify who it was. Two players — Argentina’s Guido Pella and Bolivia’s Hugo Dellien — said it was their fitness trainer and that is why they were dropped from the field after contact tracing. The USTA has created a coronavirus bubble for both tournaments that includes two hotels on Long Island, the Long Island Marriott and the Garden City Hotel, and private housing for a select few. Players and up to three people in their entourages must stay within what has been called the Double in the Bubble and require special permission to leave it.