Virus Knocks Tennis Players Out at Indian Wells

You do not want to be on a cruise ship when dysentery breaks out...

                                                 - Booking Agent, Mike LaFontaine in the movie A Mighty Wind

Apparently a tennis tournament isn't the place to be either.

In a statement issued on Sunday, health officials in the Palm Springs area said the virus had spread across the Coachella Valley, resulting in symptoms of nausea, vomiting, fever and diarrhoea.

"It (the virus) is self-limited and lasts between 24 and 48 hours," the Eisenhower Medical Center said. "It is transmitted by air and direct contact and not passed via food.

"... we have seen increases in overall visits to the emergency department by about 15 percent over the past week. We have seen fans and players at the tournament experience these symptoms as well."

Players who have taken ill include:

Vera Zvonareva

Gael Monfils

Jurgen Melzer

Vania King

Philipp Kohlschreiber

Andreas Seppi

Magdalena Rybarikova

Bethanie Mattek-Sands