Model Belle Lucia Slams Government's 'Double Standards' Ahead Of Australian Open

Model and influencer Belle Lucia has taken aim at the Australian government for supposedly allowing tennis players to enter the country for the Aussie Open while others are still desperately trying to get home amid the coronavirus pandemic.

With the Australian Open just a matter of weeks away, some of the world's best tennis stars have landed Down Under and are currently quarantining in Melbourne ahead of the prestigious grand slam tournament.

Some of them have already kicked up a stink about the living conditions in their safeguarded hotel rooms, but it seems they're not the only ones that aren't too pleased about the whole situation.

Aussie model Lucia has now accused the government of 'double standards', claiming that they've chosen to allow tennis players into the country ahead of its own citizens.

It's understood the 25-year-old is trying to get home from the UK with her 15-month-old son as her visa is about to expire.

She shared her thoughts with her 1.3million Instagram followers.

"So if you're a rich tennis player no problem getting into the country," she said in one of her stories.

Instagram/@belle_lucia

"If you're an Australian citizen with an almost expired visa with a baby, then no.

"Also, it's mandatory to do two weeks' hotel quarantine but a lot of tennis players get practice time outdoors which is another double standard."

An estimated 40,000 Aussies are currently stranded overseas amid the COVID-19 pandemic with only a certain number of them allowed into the country under the government's strict international arrivals regulations.

And to be fair to Lucia, she does highlight in the video that there are a lot of people who are in worse situations than herself.

"It's really quite sad," she said in a video posted later.

"There's a lot of Australians who are actually homeless because their flights have been cancelled, flight after flight, and now they can't even afford the next flight because it's so ridiculously expensive.

"It's a really horrible situation for a lot of Australians."

Topics: government, Tennis, Tennis news, Australian Open, Coronavirus, Australia, Covid-19

Max Sherry

Max Sherry is a journalist for SPORTbible Australia. After migrating Down Under from London as a teenager, he instantly fell in love with Aussie sport and its culture. From NRL to AFL, cricket to rugby — you name it, Max watches it (with a beer in hand, of course). During his time at Fox Sports, he worked in the football department covering the Premier League, A-League, Socceroos and Matildas. Born a stone's throw away from West Ham's training ground, Max is obviously a die-hard Liverpool fan.

@maxysherry