Andy Murray backs COVID protocols for Australian Open 2022; 'It would be great'

Former World No 1 Andy Murray has come out in support of vaccination being made compulsory for next year's Australian Open following his exit from the Indian Wells tournament. According to Australian newspaper The Age, vaccination against COVID could become compulsory for tennis players competing in the first Grand Slam of the 2022 season. 

According to The Age's report, head of Tennis Australia, Craig Tiley had expressed his concern that the vaccination mandate might cause issues for the players. The government's decision came after Tiley spent months raising concerns about the mandate, citing the risk of non-participation of a group of top players who refuse to be vaccinated. 

On Friday, October 1, the Australian state of Victoria announced a list of authorised personnel who must receive at least one dose of the COVID vaccination in the next two weeks. Professional athletes were also included in the mandate.

Andy Murray supports vaccination for Australian Open

Following the defeat to Alexander Zverev at the Indian Wells tournament, Andy Murray in the post-match interview said, 

"My understanding is if you're unvaccinated you're still allowed to play, it's just the rules are going to be different. You might just have to leave (for Australia) a few weeks earlier than everyone else. That's the player's choice. If the local government puts that in place then I would support that. It would be great if more players got vaccinated."

He added, "Australia in particular has been very, very strict over there. The public there have had to endure a painful 18 months or whatever. If people are going to come into the country and potentially risk an outbreak in their community, yeah, that's understandable."

Andy Murray's Indian Wells journey ends with defeat to Alexander Zverev

The Andy Murray vs Alexander Zverev clash turned out to be an entertaining contest for the fans, with the German coming out on top 6-4, 7-6(4) despite falling behind to a break in both sets. 

The third seed reached the fourth round in Indian Wells for the first time since 2016 and will next play 14th seed Gael Monfils or two-time major finalist Kevin Anderson. Alexander Zverev has now won 19 of his past 20 matches, including the gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics and the Western & Southern Open title in Cincinnati.