Tsitsipas will lead by example.
A month after drawing criticism from the Greek government for comments on vaccination, world tennis number 3 Stefanos Tsitsipas will be vaccinated against Covid-19, he announced on Monday.
"I will do it this year (get vaccinated) to be able to go to stores or restaurants," said the Greek on the Antenna channel.
“I personally did not promote vaccination.
I was not against vaccination.
I support everyone who wants to get vaccinated.
I am not a doctor, I am a tennis player and my opinion is not the best in terms of medicine, the 23-year-old admitted.
Read alsoCovid-19: whether or not to promote the vaccine, a divisive subject among athletes
In mid-August, Tsitsipas had been reluctant to be vaccinated, pointing in particular to possible side effects.
“No one made the vaccine an obligation.
At some stage, I will have to (do it), I'm pretty sure, but so far it hasn't been compulsory to play, so I haven't, no ”.
"I'm not against it, I just don't see a reason for someone in my age group to be vaccinated"
“I am young, in the under 25 category, for me the vaccine has not been tested enough, it's new.
And there are side effects.
I personally know people who have had it.
I'm not against it, I just don't see a reason for someone in my age group to be vaccinated, ”added the Greek.
His words had earned him remonstrances from the Greek government.
"He has neither the knowledge, nor the background, nor the research work which would allow him to form an opinion on this", had thus retorted the spokesman of the government, Giannis Economou.
Tsitsipas, who was the face of Greece's "Stay Home" campaign last year at the height of the pandemic, admitted he struggled during the first lockdown in 2020.
“I felt like my life was meaningless,” he told Antenna on Monday. “I had so many goals to accomplish this season, to show a new Stefanos, and I knew the year was over. I could not achieve what I had set for myself. "
