‘I don’t see the point in stalling’ – Victoria Azarenka calls for mandatory vaccinations for players

Victoria Azarenka has called for the tennis authorities to make COVID-19 vaccinations for players mandatory to compete.

The subject of vaccinations has divided tennis, with many players strongly opposed to and others strong advocates.

That has led to a strange situation at the US Open where fans attending are required to be vaccinated while players are not, and that does not sit right with the Belarusian former world number one.

“To me that’s a bit bizarre that fans have to be vaccinated and players are not,” Azarenka said.

“So I think that in my opinion, it’s inevitable that it will be mandated at some point, like other leagues are doing.

“I don’t see the point of stalling it, because we all want to be safe, we all want to continue doing our jobs, and I know there is a lot of discussions about it.

“I respect everybody’s opinion as long as it’s not conspiracy theory, if you actually have decent knowledge and looked into research and have your facts and stats and research, that’s a different conversation.

“But I feel that that part of conversation that, really, you need to be knowledgeable to what you’re saying is missing in a lot of players.”

“Ultimately, I guess the reason why all of us are getting vaccinated is to look out for the wider public.

“We have a responsibility as players that are traveling across the world to look out for everyone else as well.

“I’m happy that I’m vaccinated. I’m hoping that more players choose to have it in the coming months.”