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Tennis, reluctant to vaccines

Laura Marta

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While the world had gotten used to empty stands and face masks, the 2021 Australian Open presented a surprising panorama: packed courts, no safety distance and visible smiles from the fans. There was a toll, it is true, tennis players criticized the bubbles and quarantines, but Melbourne Park again offered tennis without echoes and with applause. There was a toll, especially for Australians; Melbourne has just risen from a 263-day lockdown to curb the most virulent strains, shutting down the city as soon as a single case occurred. Hence, the authorities want to maintain that image of normality that has cost them so much to build. There will be no exceptions: every tennis player who wants to participate in the Australian Open 2022 must have the complete vaccination schedule, although the possibility of complying with a two-week quarantine without leaving the room on duty is open. A rule that reopens the debate and skepticism among the members of the ATP and the WTA, since tennis is one of the sports most reluctant to punctures. As a proper name, that of Novak Djokovic, which questions his participation in the first Grand Slam of the year if he has to go through the vaccine.

«I am against vaccination. I would not like anyone to force me to be vaccinated in order to travel, “he declared in April 2020.” I will not reveal if I am vaccinated. It is a private matter and an inappropriate question. I do not want to play the game that the media are creating, “he said last week. The Serbian is the prominent name, due to his status as number 1 in the ATP and because in Australia, where he has triumphed nine times, he has the opportunity to tiebreaker in the number of Grand Slams with Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal. But he is not the only one on the male or female circuit, who shows his disappointment with regard to vaccines.

Most of those who are reluctant do so out of doubt and fear of the consequences. Daniil Medvedev or Alexander Zverev, for example, without it being clear whether they finally received the dose or not. The first was champion of the US Open 2021, in a paradox in which the spectators who saw him win his first Grand Slam had to be vaccinated to be on the track applauding his achievement.

Stefanos Tsitsipas admitted that he would only get vaccinated if forced, although he would think about it as the months went by. It is the same reason that Elina Svitolina and Aryna Sabalenka used in April: “For now, it makes almost no sense to do something that has been tried with such a short time,” said the first. “They have created the vaccines very quickly, with no time to test them and see what happens. If I have to do it… I have to do it, because our life is a constant journey. But I’ll see, “claimed the second. Andrey Rublev appealed to the tradition in his family to verbally refuse to receive the dose: “If I have the option to choose, I will say no. Just for feelings, I have not had any vaccinations since I was a child. On the other side, vaccinated and encouraging their colleagues, Ashleigh Barty, Naomi Osaka, Rafael Nadal or Simona Halep took a position from the beginning: «I wanted to get vaccinated. I came with an open mind and I’m fine. It is for the good of all and that is why I decided to do it, ”he wrote on social networks with a photo of himself in full jail. Other voices, such as those of Victoria Azarenka or Andy Murray, have been more blunt and urge the relevant organizations to be more firm so that the circuit is fully vaccinated and by obligation, as the NBA has decreed. “We vaccinated now have more freedom than the unvaccinated. In addition, that there are so few tennis players on the circuit who are protected can cause problems, “said the Scotsman.

Last August, ATP and WTA sources indicated that the male circuit was vaccinated in a percentage slightly higher than 50% and the female circuit did not reach that half. Neither association has issued any stricter message than a mere recommendation, despite the fact that tennis is undoubtedly one of the most mobile sports, with thousands of players changing courts, tournaments, and countries. , of companies …

The Charleston WTA tournament offered the option to get vaccinated for all its participants. Many tennis players had their opportunity to do the same when they were selected by their respective countries to play the Games, as the IOC bought doses for the entire Olympic family, including displaced journalists, who were forced to have the complete guideline.

Without exceptions

From these data it is clear that the tournaments have not ruled the mandatory vaccination to participate, as the Australian Open is doing now. ‘All visitors to Australia must be twice vaccinated. It is a universal app, not just for tennis players. I don’t have a message for Novak Djokovic; I have a message for everyone who wants to visit Australia, ”said Alex Hawke, Australian Immigration Minister; “These rules apply to everyone without favoritism. It does not matter if you are the number 1 in the world or you are anything else, “said Greg Hunt, head of Health.

One of those problems is testing positive for coronavirus and being eliminated from any competition. Something that Johanna Konta or Daniel Evans suffered, outside of the Games. “People have different opinions and it is not easy, but I don’t think they are getting the vaccine out of the back of a truck and if it serves to protect us it will be good for everyone. There are some pretty nasty stories of people who didn’t want to get vaccinated or are anti-vaccines and then sadly they had some complications and they wish they had, ”said the Briton.

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