Pierre-Hugues Herbert is unvaccinated, won't play Australian Open

Pierre-Hugues Herbert will not play the Australian Open largely because he is unvaccinated against the coronavirus, the French player has told L'Alsace newspaper.

The 30-year-old and his doubles partner Nicolas Mahut would have been among the top teams going for the title in Melbourne, but plans to start his season by playing some European challengers.

"Personally, I am not vaccinated and the trip to Australia was not viable for me," he said. "So I'm doing what I can. But because of my singles ranking, it may be for the good to start with smaller tournaments, here in Europe.

"My ranking has gone down, I'm No. 110 today, so I'm choosing to start with the weaker events in Europe.

"But definitely from the moment I couldn't go there unless I was vaccinated, it complicated things."

Herbert had said during the Paris Masters that he had not been vaccinated and did not know if he could arrange it by the start of next season. Mahut, who has said he is vaccinated, has talked about playing in Australia but has not announced who he would partner in doubles.

Herbert acknowledged that he could have more difficulties playing on tour as an increasing number of countries start to require travelers to have received vaccination.

"It's not just Australia. Today, it's the United States, Austria," he said. "It's a complex topic... But yes, for my part, it is a personal choice not to get vaccinated."

Ranked as high as No. 36 in singles during his career, he is No. 8 in doubles. In 2021, Herbert and Mahut partnered for three doubles trophies including Roland Garros and the ATP Finals.