Belinda Bencic does not want to be vaccinated yet because of the side effects. picture: imago-images.de
Vaccine madness at the US Open – Belinda Bencic is afraid of the injection
Grotesque situation at the US Open. While spectators can only access the facility with proof of vaccination, at most half of the players are vaccinated against the coronavirus.
At the beginning of August, Belinda Bencic, with gold in singles and silver in doubles, was the face of the most successful Summer Olympics of the millennium from a Swiss point of view: successful, young, female, personable.
Even then, international sport boasted with the statement that more than 80 percent of the athletes in Tokyo were fully vaccinated against the corona virus at the time of the competitions. On Friday, Swiss Olympic, the umbrella organization for Swiss sports, called for vaccinations and also supports the expansion of the certificate requirement.
Olympic champion Belinda Bencic has not yet been vaccinated. For fear of possible side effects and a break of several days, the 24-year-old has been postponing the decision for months. Bencic says, “I’m not saying that all have side effects, but I was scared of them. I didn’t want to take that risk before the Olympic Games. “
For the same reason, Bencic refused the vaccination at the tournament in Charleston in April, where she could have been immunized with the vaccine from Johnson & Johnson on the initiative of the WTA, the professional organization for women. Or before the French Open in May. Or before the US Open.
Bencic «not for and not against»
How an unwanted training break, even if only for a few days, can affect professional athletes, Bencic had to experience firsthand at the beginning of the year when she was put in hotel quarantine for 14 days at the Australian Open because she was on a charter flight to Melbourne where the virus was introduced.
The incident cast a shadow over their season. It was not until the summer that Bencic gradually found her best form, reached the final in Berlin and then, somewhat surprisingly, crowned herself Olympic champion in Tokyo.
When asked whether she wants to be vaccinated at all, Bencic answers evasively. In response to a question from this newspaper, she practices diplomacy. She says: “I’m not for it and I’m not against it.” She has not yet been vaccinated because she did not want to endanger her athletic ambitions.
Since the Australian Open in January, she has played a tournament almost every week – which is not entirely true. In both March and April, Bencic took two breaks for almost two weeks. “Now, with the new delta variant, I have to reassess the situation.”
Djokovic and Tsitsipas against vaccination
Olympic champion Belinda Bencic is also representative of the lack of vaccination in the tennis circuit. So far, only half of both women and men have been vaccinated.
For comparison: In the ice hockey league NHL the proportion is 85 percent, in the basketball league NBA 90 percent, in the women’s counterpart, the WNBA, even 99 percent. However, these are team athletes who are employees and to whom the union not only recommends the vaccination, but where there is even a risk of wage cuts if the tests are positive.
Djokovic is a firm opponent of vaccinations. Image: keystone
In tennis there has been a trade union with the Professional Tennis Players Association PTPA since this summer, but its president Novak Djokovic is one of the biggest concerns. In spring 2020 he held the Adriatic Tour during the first wave of pandemics, during which numerous spectators and participants, including Djokovic, his wife and leading politicians in the Zadar region, were infected.
The Serb fled from Belgrade to Monte Carlo by private jet and positioned himself as an opponent of vaccinations when he said: “I am against it. I don’t want someone forcing me to take a vaccine. I decide what is best for my body. “
More ticket sales thanks to mandatory certification
Stefanos Tsitsipas made a similar statement. The Greek said: «The vaccine has not been tested enough and it has side effects. I think it’s better for us boys to go through the disease. “
He will only be vaccinated if he is required to do so in order to be able to take part in tournaments. In his home country Greece, the statement caused a shake of the head. Government spokesman Giannis Oikonomou said Tsitsipas had “neither the knowledge nor the education” to enable him to form an opinion.
Last week, the Mayor of New York, Bill de Blasio, decreed that only spectators with a vaccination certificate would be admitted to the US Open, with the exception of children under the age of 12. This results in the grotesque situation that the vaccinated in the stands cheer on with players, of whom at most half are vaccinated.
The certificate requirement is evidently well received by viewers: the previously sluggish ticket sales have since received a massive boost. Many players don’t seem to care. Djokovic renewed his critical stance in New York when he said it was a “personal decision. I hope it stays that way. “
On the other hand, Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, who were absent from New York, and Andy Murray, who failed in the first round due to Tsitsipas, took a clear position when he said: “Since then, I have been able to enjoy a relatively normal life again, the non-vaccinated players can’t do that. I am sure that this will frustrate her in the long run. “
The Scot recalled “the responsibility as a player” who travels around the world and thus contributes to overcoming the pandemic. But many – like Belinda Bencic – continue to play for time. Maybe even in the hope of never having to make a decision.
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