"Difficult to understand": Vaccination difference between players and spectators causes displeasure
Only about half of all tennis professionals at the US Open are vaccinated against COVID-19 - despite frequent travel. One thing that meets with displeasure.
by Jörg Allmeroth
last edit: Sep 01, 2021, 12:10 pm
The different tennis worlds at the US Open catch your eye even at the gates of the Billie Jean King Tennis Center. At the spectator gates, more patience than ever is required to enter the Grand Slam universe of Flushing Meadows.In addition to the already meticulous body and baggage check, valid vaccination certificates must now also be presented for all visitors over twelve years of age in these Corona times. Some fans stood in line for up to an hour on the first days of the US Open, and the organizer, the United States Tennis Association, was even forced to give an official apology for the crippling traffic jam.
At the entrance to the so-called “Presidents Gate”, where the professionals board the Grand Slam Theater, there is no sign of such difficulties. If you show a player pass, you will be waved through with a smile after the usual visit to the bags. Whether vaccinated or not is of no further interest - because at the US Open, as elsewhere in the traveling circus, there is no compulsory vaccination for the actors. This is an extremely strange situation, noted the former top American player and Davis Cup boss Patrick McEnroe: “As a TV expert, I have to present a vaccination certificate in order to be able to work here. But the players don't. It's difficult to understand. "
Only about half of tennis professionals are vaccinated
In fact, the vaccination issue has not disappeared even a year after the ghost games in the Big Apple, precisely because a surprising number of players persistently show themselves to be uncomfortable with vaccinations or openly opposed to vaccinations. Recent surveys by the player organizations WTA (women) and ATP (men) showed that only about half of the professionals were immunized against COVID-19. The consequence: wherever the traveling circus makes a guest appearance, the players have to claim special rights and hope for concessions from authorities and organizers.
The fact that professionals, who are constantly exposed to the risk of infection when traveling around the world, sometimes openly refuse a vaccination, is "irritating", says a senior official of the ITF World Tennis Federation. The recommendation for vaccination is "as clear as day" and very "understandable", not least because of the role model that many stars assume. The ATP said in a statement that a vaccination would help the entire group of players and could ensure that "restrictions are gradually lifted."
Murray enjoys, Djokovic thinks
However, the rifts between those who want to be vaccinated and those who oppose the vaccination are deep. While Scotland's Braveheart Andy Murray says that as a vaccinated person he can now “enjoy a kind of normal life” and also has a responsibility for the “general public as someone who jets around the world”, leader Novak Djokovic continues to insist on them "Personal decision of each individual". However, after the appearance of the Delta variant, he wanted to "think again about everything." Djokovic had already given world tennis bad headlines in the summer of 2020 with his reckless Adriatic tour, during which he and many colleagues became infected.
The Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas, currently in the US Open headlines because of his excessive toilet breaks, also caused an outcry. Tsitsipas recently described the vaccination as “insufficiently tested”, it had “side effects”: “I think it is better for us younger people to go through the disease.” A sharp reply from the highest authorities was not long in coming, Greece Government spokesman Giannis Oikonomou harshly rebuked the 23-year-old: "Stefanos Tsitsipas has neither the knowledge nor the education to allow him to form an opinion."
What will happen at the Australian Open 2022?
The tennis scene lags far behind other top organizations in professional sport when it comes to vaccination rates. According to information from the “New York Times”, the proportion of immunized professionals in the NHL ice hockey league is 85 percent, in the male basketball league NBA 90 percent - and among women basketball women in the USA (WNBA) even 95 percent. In most US leagues, the athletes are employees who have to reckon with reduced wages in the event of an infection. There is currently no reliable information about the vaccination rate for players in the German soccer leagues.
For many tennis professionals, a moment of truth could soon come. Because there are serious indications that only athletes who are vaccinated are allowed to enter Melbourne for the Australian Open 2022 in January.