(Reuters) – Alex de Minaur has sought to clear his name amid reports he was being investigated for buying a falsified COVID-19 vaccination certificate, with the Australian saying on Thursday he is ‘100% clear’ he has taken two shots.
Media reports alleged the 23-year-old bought a falsified certificate to prove he had taken two shots of the COVID-19 vaccine.
“I received my first dose of the vaccine in London last summer and the second one at the Hospital La Paz in Madrid,” De Minaur wrote on Twitter.
“News came out today that the hospital is under investigation for providing falsified COVID certificates to some of its patients. I want to make it 100% clear that I received my second shot, that I have a completely valid, accurate and true vaccination record.
“I am not “under investigation” in any way as is being suggested and my name is connected to this story simply because I was a patient at the hospital (as many thousands of others were).”
De Minaur was knocked out in the fourth round of last month’s Australian Open.
The season-opening Grand Slam required players to show proof of vaccination to compete — a rule that led to unvaccinated world number one Novak Djokovic being deported.
The ATP Tour’s rule book states submitting a falsified COVID-19 vaccination record amounts to a violation of its code and is punishable by a fine of up to $100,000 and/or suspension from its tournaments for a period of up to three years.
(Reporting by Rohith Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Christian Radnedge)
