MELBOURNE (AFP) - Forty-seven players were barred from practising for a fortnight on Saturday (Jan 16) in a major setback to their Australian Open preparations after passengers on two charter flights that brought them to Melbourne tested positive to Covid-19. While the three people who failed the tests were not players, everyone on board was considered a close contact and ordered to stay in their hotel rooms for the entire 14-day mandatory quarantine period. It means none of them will now be allowed out to practise and train for the five hours each day agreed to as part of their build-up to the opening Major of the year, Tennis Australia said.