Tsitsipas sitting on vaccination plan unless it is compulsory
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Stefanos Tsitsipas, after losing in the semi-finals of the Toronto Masters on Saturday, will hope for a better display in the Cincinnati Masters, where he is the second seed.
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CINCINNATI • World No. 3 Stefanos Tsitsipas has said he would only get the Covid-19 vaccine if it became mandatory to compete in tennis.
While the men's ATP Tour has publicly encouraged players to get vaccinated, the 23-year-old Greek is among those who still have reservations and is unvaccinated.
"No one has told me anything. No one has made it a mandatory thing to be vaccinated," he said, when asked if he would seek a vaccine while competing in the United States.
"At some point, I will have to, I'm pretty sure about it, but so far, it hasn't been mandatory to compete, so I haven't done it, no."
Tsitsipas received a first-round bye in the Masters event in Cincinnati - the final warm-up event before the US Open, the last Grand Slam of the year, starts on Aug 30.
He reached the French Open final in June but suffered a shock, first-round exit at Wimbledon, where he told reporters he found it challenging to live and compete inside the grass-court tournament's bubble.
The Covid-19 vaccine has divided opinion within tennis.
Top-ranked Novak Djokovic said in April he hoped it would not become mandatory for players to take the shot in order to compete and has declined to answer questions regarding his own vaccination status.
However, fellow record 20-time Grand Slam winners Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal feel athletes need to play their part to get life back to some form of normality.
Federer said in May that he received the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine. Nadal added: "The only way out of this nightmare is vaccination. Our responsibility as human beings is to accept it.
"I know there is a percentage of people who will suffer from side effects, but the effects of the virus are worse."
Spectators will not be allowed to attend qualifying rounds at the US Open due to the Covid-19 pandemic, but the United States Tennis Association (USTA) has said it would allow full fan capacity once the main draw starts.
It would be the first time there has been a full crowd at a Grand Slam since the start of the pandemic.
With Flushing Meadows less than two weeks away, women's top seed Ashleigh Barty is working to get accustomed to the hot, humid summer conditions at the Cincinnati Open.
The world No. 1 skipped last week's tune-up event in Montreal but is eager to get stuck in as preparations for the hard-court Slam enter their final stage.
"I'm looking forward to now changing back to hard courts and trying to find some rhythm and some groove," Barty, who suffered a shock first-round exit at the Tokyo Olympics, said on Monday.
"It feels like a long time since I've played on hard courts. Miami (in March) was my last hard-court tournament, and the conditions there are vastly different to here.
"It's going to take some time to adjust, without a doubt. But we'll just keep chipping away, and try and get the best chance in each and every match."
The reigning Wimbledon champion admitted it will take some work for her to feel at ease on court this week.
"This is a place where I've never quite felt 100 per cent comfortable," the Australian added. "But we've got New York right around the corner.
"This period of the year is always an enjoyable one, I can't wait to get started back into some matches again."
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, REUTERS
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