Vaccination against Covid-19 is as sensitive a subject on the professional tennis circuit as it is in any family meal. There are the downright hostiles. The skeptics. And then there is Rafael Nadal.
While Djokovic, Medvedev or Zverev – among others – prefer to evade the subject, the earthbender has a position that could not be clearer: “I understand that there are people who do not want to be vaccinated, but this seems to me to be a somewhat selfish posture ”, asserted the Mallorcan Friday during the Marca Sport Weekend, an event organized in Seville by the Spanish sports daily.
ATP: Medvedev: “I don’t want to talk about my body and my health anymore” #NittoATPFinals #AusOpen #Medvedev #Vaccine #Health https://t.co/cFEFSc1wsu
– TennisActu (@TennisActu) November 13, 2021
By videoconference from his home in the Balearic Islands, Nadal, recovering since early August due to a foot injury, relied on the serious health crisis that his country has gone through. “We have suffered a lot. We don’t know 100% about the effects of vaccines, but we have to trust the doctors. What we do know is the effect of the virus if we are not vaccinated. “
The Australian Open in the background
The state of Victoria, whose capital Melbourne will host the Australian Open in January, could not ask for a better spokesperson, as local political authorities ruled out granting a waiver to unvaccinated players.
“Rafa” has driven the point home, against the backdrop of a new wave of Covid-19. “It seems that to date we are the least affected country by the virus and I believe it is because a large part of the population is vaccinated. “