Gael Monfils, France’s top tennis player, will be unable to play at next week’s Davis Cup after suffering health problems caused by the Covid-19 booster shot. He made the announcement on social media.
Monfils is ranked as 25th best men’s player in the world, winning his first title in two years in Adelaide and then reaching the quarter-finals of the Australian Open. In late January he suffered a shock defeat at the hands of Mikael Ymer, who is ranked 83rd.
Monfils wrote on Tuesday: “Hello everyone, I wanted to give you some news following my recent rest in tournaments. I suffered a small health problem (probably following my third dose of the vaccine). On the advice of my doctor, I decided to take time to rest. Unfortunately, I won’t be able to play the Davis Cup next week. I hope to be able to return to the United States.”
Monfils is the second French tennis player injured by the Covid vaccine. In September last year, tennis star Jeremy Chardy suffered a severe adverse reaction to the Pfizer vaccine he had received in August. Chardy has not played a match since the US Open last summer and has dropped to number 138 in the world. Before his vaccine injury, he was ranked at number 73.