The Miami Open Covid Controversy By Chris Knight (Florida)
According to Steve Kirsch, it is mighty suspicious that 15 players drop from the Miami Open, and he wonders if this could be the Covid vaxxes working their black magic. Well, the standard fact checkers deny this, and here are comments from one which does a comprehensive jab, I mean job. Let them have their say, then I will respond, refuting them.
https://www.aap.com.au/factcheck/miami-open-vaccine-injury-claim-aced-by-the-facts/
“A total of 15 players are listed on the official Miami Open women’s singles results (here) as withdrawing before play or retirement, which is leaving during a match.
Camila Giorgi suffered a right wrist injury, as stated in media reports, while Garbiñe Muguruza discussed her shoulder injury on Twitter, as did Simona Halep and Caroline Garcia with their own injuries.
Maryna Zanevksa posted on Instagram about problems with an “old injury”, while Karolina Muchova had abdominal injury problems which she confirmed on social media. Dalma Galfi also referred to injury pains on Instagram.
Sofia Kenin pulled out due to an ankle injury according to media reports, as did Anna Kalinskaya with an arm injury, Angelina Kalinina with a thigh injury and Clara Tauson due to heat illness. Tauson’s father told Danish media 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 Victoria Azarenka appearing to clutch her heart. But Azarenka retired controversially in the middle of a match citing personal issues, later adding her personal life has been “extremely stressful.” She has withdrawn from seven tournaments in the past 14 months, BBC Sport reported.
Of the other players who withdrew, Paula Badosa retired mid-match and said she had been “struggling with illness”, but gave no indication this was due to vaccination. Marketa Vondrousova is listed on the Miami Open sheet as suffering from a “viral illness”, while Kateřina Siniaková confirmed on social media she was ill, due to abdominal injury, according to the Miami Open sheet.
The Richardson Post also cites Jannik Sinner being forced to withdraw from the men’s tournament without mentioning that he left due to foot blisters. In total, there were four in the men’s draw who either withdrew or retired – Sinner, Reilly Opelka (right shoulder), Matteo Berrettini (right hand) and Jan-Lennard Struff (right foot).
Tennis fans on message boards noted the high amount of withdrawals and retirements in Miami, however, injuries in tennis tournaments aren’t unusual, industry experts say, 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 review of incidents. A British Journal of Sport Medicine study in 2016 noted “the high prevalence of unresolved or recurrent injuries” in professional players.
THE 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.”
It is true that injuries occur in tennis, but this seems very much a freak occurrence. Let us grant that most of the people reporting “old injuries” are honest, and are not covering more serious issues, which would be sensible to do if heart issues were the real cause. There are still the cases of former world number one Victoria Azarenka appearing to clutch her heart. Azarenka retired in the middle of a match citing “personal issues,” but this is still consistent with heart issues, for what is more personal than that? Paula Badosa retired mid-match and said she had been “struggling with illness”, and while the fact checker says that she gave no indication this was due to vaccination, that does not prove that it was not. They also claim that Marketa Vondrousova was listed on the Miami Open sheet as suffering from a “viral illness,” but again, this is also consistent with effects of the Covid vax.
So the verdict should be: we don’t know, but maybe in some of these cases, the minority to be sure, it was the vax!
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