Australian Open: Vaccination with Sputnik V - Natalia Vikhlyantseva is not allowed to play
Since the vaccine does not entitle Sputnik V to travel to Australia, Natalia Vikhlyantseva will miss the Australian Open in Melbourne.
by Nikolaus Fink
last edit: Dec 20, 2021, 08:08 pm
The starting shot for the Australian Open, which begins on January 17, will be given in around a month, but the international tennis streak will be on its way down under in just a few days for reasons of preparation and acclimatization - and needs full immunization against the coronavirus for this.
Natalia Vikhlyantseva will definitely not make the trip. As the 24-year-old announced on Tuesday, she was vaccinated, but received the world rankings-194. the Russian vaccine Sputnik V. According to Australian law, this does not entitle you to enter the country.
"Unfortunately, I will not take part in the Australian Open this year. I am very happy with the tennis I have shown in the last few tournaments and I would like to play in Australia, but Sputnik is not yet approved," wrote Vikhlyantseva on Twitter. It is unclear whether other players - especially from Russia - were also vaccinated with Sputnik V.
Recently, the signs had increased that the Russian vector vaccine and the Chinese dead vaccines from Sinovac (CoronaVac) and Sinopharm (BBIBP-CorV) were unlikely to offer any protection against the new Omikron variant with two vaccinations. In contrast to Sputnik V, the Chinese vaccines as well as those from Biontech / Pfizer, Astra Zeneca, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson allow entry into Australia.