Andy Murray has spoken of his lingering frustration at testing positive for coronavirus before he was due to fly to the Australian Open. Murray believes he became infected at the LTA’s National Tennis Centre in Roehampton during an outbreak there last month. It raises questions about the Covid protocols at the NTC, where most of the elite tennis players in the country have been training during the pandemic. “I couldn’t pick it up anywhere else because I hadn’t left my house or the NTC for 10 weeks, and then there were some positive cases there,” said Murray. “I certainly couldn’t have picked it up from my family because they were all negative.” Murray noted that none of his team had caught the virus. It is understood that enforcement of coronavirus protocols at the NTC became more relaxed after the Christmas period, something which was not helped by the absence of an LTA doctor owing to illness. Some people left during Christmas and were not tested upon their return to the NTC until 7 January. Last month “a few coaches and a few players” tested positive. Murray says that while things have since been corrected, January marked a stark contrast from last spring when playing courts were spaced out and the gym closed. “After Christmas you have an indoor venue where they are using all six courts, there were tons of people in the gym and it was just totally different.” The players’ lounge at the NTC has received ample criticism and is believed to be an area where the virus may have spread. Multiple sources have reported seeing more than a dozen players in the room without social distancing and limited mask wearing. “I was at the NTC around Christmas, and a lot of things were on point. What let it down was people being allowed into the players’ lounge. There was so much mixing going on in there,” said a source who wished to remain anonymous. The LTA said in a statement about the outbreak: “As everyone knows this virus is and has been widespread throughout the UK. As the recent positive cases recorded in quarantine in Australia have shown, even with the strictest precautions, it is impossible to eradicate all risk of exposure either within a single location or in the wider community. “We have consistently applied the stringent and appropriate restrictions, testing and other protocols for elite training centres in line with government guidance. We have worked closely with Public Health England in order to keep the centre open since April for both training and as a host venue for over 1,000 competitive matches. “Our protocols are regularly communicated to everyone using the venue and we expect them to be adhered to in the players’ lounge and all other areas of the building. It is impossible for LTA staff to police every part of the building continuously and ultimately individuals are responsible for their own behaviour and ensuring they follow the rules to protect themselves and others.” Speaking after reaching the final of the Murray River Open in Melbourne, Dan Evans suggested that vigilance had “maybe slackened” after the Christmas period. He also echoed suggestions that too many people were allowed into the NTC, the only place in the UK with open tennis courts, when players travelling to Australia should have been the priority. “Without being rude to some players in there, [they] probably shouldn’t have been in there. I don’t think they were really of much importance. But that was sort of the way it was,” said Evans. Murray’s positive test has had notable consequences. He was “pretty ill” for two days as he isolated from his family in his house. Just under a week later his wife tested positive and then the rest of his family followed. One member of his family was seriously affected. “My family are OK. I was pissed off that I missed the tournament and wasn’t able to go to Australia from a personal perspective, but then the more important point is that it’s not just about a tennis tournament when I am going back and giving the virus to all of my family. I care about that a lot. “And I don’t think people always realise that if you’re not sticking to the rules, or the protocols that are in place are not good enough, you’re putting people in serious danger. It’s frustrating.” As his colleagues and rivals finish their preparation for the first grand slam of the year, Murray is instead in Biella, Italy, for an ATP Challenger. “I still am gutted about it. Seeing the tournaments going on over there is tough because I’d prepared really, really well. It had probably been the best two or three months training that I had done in the last few years.”