WHAT WAS CLAIMED
Fifteen tennis players withdrew or retired from the Miami Open after suffering adverse effects of the COVID-19 vaccine.
AAP FACTCHECK VERDICT
False. Official tournament records cite various sports injuries and illnesses. This is supported by news reports and players' social media posts.
A former Australian politician is among those to that 15 tennis players withdrew from the due to COVID-19 vaccine injuries.
However, there is no connection between the players withdrawing and adverse effects of the vaccine. Official results ( and ), provided by the and event, cite various sports injuries or other illness as the reason for most of the withdrawals, which are backed up by players’ social media accounts.
The claim was shared by , a former senator for Queensland from 2017 to 2019, who is known for his . “A total of 15 tennis players have withdrawn from the Miami Open,” Anning writes on his post sharing a website link. “Naturally they’re doing all they can to blame it on other factors,” adding the hashtag #vaccineinjuries.
The article Anning quotes is from , and claims that the tennis players withdrew because of “the vaccine. That’s what’s going on.” Other and accounts make linking vaccination, with some falsely reporting all the .
A total of 15 players are listed on the official Miami Open women’s singles results () as , which is leaving during a match.
suffered a right wrist injury, as stated in media reports, while discussed her shoulder injury on Twitter, as did and with their own injuries.
posted on Instagram about problems with an “old injury”, while had abdominal injury problems which she on social media. also referred to injury pains on Instagram.
pulled out due to an ankle injury according to media reports, as did with an arm injury, with a thigh injury and due to heat illness. Tauson’s father that many players at the tournament had illnesses, and “more than a handful of players were facing similar problems and several had to withdraw from the tournament” (translated from Danish).
The main image used with the Facebook post features former world number one appearing to clutch her heart. But retired controversially in the middle of a match citing personal issues, later adding her personal life has been She has withdrawn from seven tournaments in the past 14 months, BBC Sport reported.
Of the other players who withdrew, retired mid-match and said she had been , but gave no indication this was due to vaccination. is listed on the , while confirmed on social media she was ill, due to abdominal injury, according to the Miami Open sheet.
The Richardson Post also cites being forced to withdraw from the men’s tournament without mentioning that he left . In total, there were who either withdrew or retired – Sinner, , and.
Tennis fans on message boards in Miami, however, injuries in tennis tournaments aren’t unusual, , and there has been no link to COVID vaccines in news reports.
Tennis players “are susceptible to a range of injuries including chronic overuse conditions and acute traumatic injuries,” according to a 2018 . A British Journal of Sport Medicine study in 2016 noted in professional players.
AAP FACTCHECK VERDICT
Fifteen women and four men at the Miami Open withdrew or retired from play, but there is no indication their exits had anything to do with COVID vaccines. Official tournament records cite injuries and illnesses, which are backed up by multiple news reports and social media accounts from the players themselves.
False – The claim is inaccurate.
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