By Richard Pagliaro | Saturday, August 28, 2021
Andy Murray says pro players have a responsibility to get the COVID-19 vaccine for the greater public good.
"Ultimately I guess the reason why all of us are getting vaccinated is to look out for the wider public," Murray told the media at the US Open today. "We have a responsibility as players that are traveling across the world, yeah, to look out for everyone else as well.
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"I'm happy that I'm vaccinated. I'm hoping that more players choose to have it in the coming months."
The former world No. 1 believes the vaccination issue will take center stage at the 2022 Australian Open as Murray suggests unvaccinated players will face stricter security measures in Melbourne.
"I can see it's going to become an issue over the coming months," Murray said. "If tournaments are going to go ahead and be held like the Aussie Open, a lot of the tour is not vaccinated, but for them to go ahead and host it, they're going to be, yeah, allowing the players that have had the vaccination to train and move freely between the hotel and stuff, potentially not having to quarantine and things like that.
"Yeah, there's going to have to be a lot of pretty long, hard conversations with the tour and all of the players involved."
World No. 1 Novak Djokovic, Stefanos Tsitsipas, Aryna Sabalenka and Diego Schwartzman are among the players who have expressed concerns about making vaccinations mandatory on the pro circuit.
Currently, the ATP encourages players to get vaccinated but does not require it. Djokovic, who contracted COVID-19 during the 2020 Adria Tour, said he hopes the rule remains the same giving players freedom of choice.
"Of course we all wish that we have every single tournament full capacity. But it seems like it's not yet possible," Djokovic said. "I mean, I'm not in a position, neither am I an expert, to debate what is the reason why we don't have everywhere full capacity, whether vaccines will help that or not.
"I feel like that should be always a personal decision, whether you want to get vaccinated or not. So I'm supportive of that. So whether someone wants to get a vaccine or not, that's completely up to them. I hope that it stays that way."
Photo credit: Pete Staples/US Open