Chardy, now ranked at No. 73 in the world, claims he is unable to train and play. "Since I got my vaccine [between the Olympics and the US Open], I have a problem, I have a series of problems. As a result, I can't train, I can't play.
[...] I prefer to take more time to heal myself and be sure that, in the future, I won't have any problems," Chardy told L'Equipe.
Chardy regrets taking the vaccine
"At the moment, my season is stopped and I don't know when I'll start again.
[...] So now I regret having taken the vaccine, but I couldn't have known. [...] It's the first time that the idea that next season might be my last has crossed my mind," Chardy added. Last month, world No. 3 Stefanos Tsitsipas expressed reluctance about taking the vaccine.
"The COVID-19 vaccine has not been tested enough because it is new and has some side effects. I know some people who've had them. I'm not against it, I just see no reason for someone in my age group to be vaccinated [yet]," Tsitsipas said in August.
"For us young people I think it's good to pass the virus because we'll build immunity. I don't see it as something bad. As I said, it isn't obligatory, everyone has freedom to decide for themselves what's right & what's not.
"At some point we should all do it, I'm not saying the opposite. The time will come when we will not be given many options, but until then I want to see a better version of the vaccine that gives us more pluses than minuses."
However, Tsitsipas changed his views as a couple of days ago he revealed he's planning to take the vaccine before the season ends.
Comment: With athletes like Chardy citing negative effects on performance, is it any wonder other athletes, like the NBA's Jonathan Isaac, are avoiding vaccination?
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