French tennis star Ugo Humbert says doctors have suggested a bad reaction to his Covid vaccine last year may be a possible reason for a slump in form.
The world number 48 crashed out of the Monte Carlo Masters last 64 to Pedro Martinez earlier this week, and explained to reporters that a bad reaction to his Covid vaccine could provide the explanation for a string of poor results since getting his jabs in 2021.
"It’s very difficult to say. I’m absolutely not a doctor," Humbert began, according to Tennis365.
"I did all the possible tests, and we found nothing. It was crazy.
"The doctors said there might be a connection with the vaccine, but it was useless to keep searching, because we don’t know exactly know enough about the vaccine yet," Humbert went on.
"But then 10 days after my shot in Toronto, of course I had played a lot. But after 45 minutes or one hour, I had cramps everywhere, and at the end of the season it was very tough for me to practice. After an hour I was exhausted," Humbert insisted, before saying he suffered a similar reaction ahead of the Australian Open at the turn of 2022, which he exited to compatriot Richard Gasquet in the first round.
"I also reacted again to Covid when I was in Australia. I think my body had not recuperated enough," the 23-year-old added.
"No, I’m not the only athlete. I also heard others talking about it, and I know it can happen. I was part of that situation, but I really want to forget about all this. There were tough times. I prefer not to talk about it anymore."
Earlier this year, a spokesperson from the ATP confirmed to The Times that 99% of the players in the top 100 of the men's tour have received at least one dose of their Covid vaccination.
The European Medicines Agency (EMA) says that its approved Covid vaccinations meet its safety standards after being evaluated in clinical trials.
The only male star on that list that hasn't been vaccinated is its leader and number one Novak Djokovic, who was deported from Australia despite being given a medical exemption to enter the country which he believed would be enough to allow him to defend his Australian Open crown eventually ceded to Rafael Nadal.
Djokovic suffered his own setback at Monte Carlo this week, being knocked out by Spaniard Alejandro Davidovich Fokina.
Humbert will now continue his clay court season at the Barcelona Open next week, where reigning champion Rafael Nadal can't defend his crown due to recovering from a rib stress fracture.