"After 45 minutes, I had cramps everywhere, at the end of the season it was very tough for me to practice" - Ugo Humbert on possible side effects of COVID-19 vaccination 

French player Ugo Humbert has made a rather poor start to the 2022 season, winning only two matches in seven tournaments.

Part of the reasoning behind his poor performance seems to be related to COVID-19. Ugo Humbert tested positive just hours after losing to Richard Gasquet in the opening round of the 2022 Australian Open.

While the Frenchman has since recovered and tested negative, he feels the side effects of the COVID-19 vaccine he took months ago may have impacted him in some way.

"It's very difficult to say. I'm absolutely not a doctor. 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 exactly know enough about the vaccine yet," Humbert said at a press conference at the Monte-Carlo Masters.

"But ten 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," the Frenchman said. "After an hour I was exhausted. I had to stop for three weeks. I also reacted again to COVID when I was in Australia. I think my body had not recuperated enough."

"No, I'm not the only athlete" - Ugo Humbert on other players suffering from possible side effects

Ugo Humbert at the 2022 ATP Cup

Ugo Humbert was also asked about whether he had spoken to other athletes about possible side effects of the vaccine. In response, the Frenchman suggested that he wasn't the only player on tour who has struggled with COVID-19 or vaccine side effects.

"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. These were tough times. I prefer not to talk about it anymore."

Humbert, who beat Daniil Medvedev in the ATP Cup for his sole top-10 win of the year so far, has slipped to 48 in the ATP rankings. The Frenchman will next feature in the ATP 500 event at Barcelona, which begins on April 18.