There is less than a month left for the start of the Australian Open and absences from the tournament continue to occur due to the measures implemented by the government of Australia and the state of Victoria to the tennis players who come to the country to play the tournament.
After the casualties of Pierre-Huguer Herbert and Timea Babos, this Monday we learned that Russian tennis player Natalia Vikhlyantseva, 24 years old and currently 194 in the WTA ranking, will not be able to play in the first Grand Slam of the season … despite having received two doses of the COVID-19 vaccine.
The reason for the exclusion of Vikhlyantseva is that the Russian tennis player has received both doses of the Sputnik vaccine, a compound that the Australian authorities have not recognized and authorized to vaccinate in your country. “There is not enough data or valid information to adequately demonstrate that it offers protection,” said the Therapeutic Good Administration (TGA).
Unfortunately, I will not participate in this year AO event. I’m really happy with a level of tennis I showed on a last few events and I wish to play in ???????? but Sputnik is not verified yet. Good luck for all participants and AO team, who always made amazing events!???????? pic.twitter.com/l2UDmUmSF8
– Nata Vikhlyantseva (@NVikhlyantseva) December 20, 2021
The tennis player herself communicated the news in her social networks. “Unfortunately I will not participate this year in the Australian Open. I was very happy with the level of tennis I had shown in recent tournaments and wanted to play in Australia, but the Sputnik vaccine has not yet been verified. Good luck to all the participants and to the Australian Open team, which always has a fantastic event. “We will see if Vikhlydamientosa’s is the only casualty for this reason or if, on the contrary, there are more withdrawals from the tournament or exclusion for taking vaccines not approved in Australia.