Sleepless in Melbourne: Quarantine mice haunt Kazak tennis player Yulia Putintseva

A mice infestation at one of the Australian Open’s quarantine hotels continues to plague Kazak player Yulia Putintseva, who complained she could not sleep for the rodents scurrying around her room.

The world number 28 changed rooms earlier this week after complaining of mice but said on social media she had found another in her new room.

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“It’s actually a lot of them! Not even 1 in my room now,” she wrote on Twitter, posting a video of a mouse jumping out from behind a closet.

“Different room same story - wanted to go to sleep but noooope.”

She added that reception had told her the hotel was full and that they couldn’t help her.

“Its a joke,” she said.

On Instagram, Putintseva complained her room’s windows would not open and held up a sign saying: “We need fresh air to breathe.”

More than 70 players and their entourage are confined to their hotel rooms for 14 days and unable to train for the Feb. 8-21 Australian Open after passengers on three charter flights returned positive tests for the novel coronavirus.

A number of players have complained about the conditions, drawing a fierce backlash from Australians.

However, Australian Open tournament director Craig Tiley on Tuesday said “the vast majority” of players were supportive of the strict protocols.

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