Coco Gauff weighs in on Wimbledon Covid crisis and lifts lid on feeling inside locker room

Coco Gauff has spoken out on the Covid crisis that has overshadowed the start at Wimbledon and revealed that players are testing themselves. Organisers have been dealt two major blows already this week with the news than Marin Cilic, and No 3 seed Matteo Berretinni, have both withdrawn from the men's tournament after testing positive for the virus.

The in-form Berretinni, who had won at Queen's in the build-up to SW19, said he had taken the decision to withdraw despite still being eligible to compete given the current regulations in the UK: "Despite symptoms not being severe, I decided it was important to take another test this morning to protect the health and safety of my fellow competitors and everyone else involved in the tournament," he said.

And after coming from a set down to beat Elena-Gabriela Ruse in her first-round match on Tuesday, Gauff said she was unaware of any potential Covid issues before learning about the Italian's plight on social media: "Honestly I didn't even know that people were testing positive until I saw another player wearing a mask upstairs," she told reporters.

"I saw on Twitter that Berrettini pulled out before my match. I didn't know there were any Covid-positive tests until, like, right before my match. I haven't really talked to anybody about it."

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Gauff also admitted that players were taking it upon themselves to take tests, a notion she insisted she was comfortable with: "I think for the most part I feel like it's okay that players are doing it themselves. I mean, I feel like that's, like, the regulations in the government now, if you feel symptoms, test. That's what I would do if I felt