No evidence tennis player's collapse at Miami Open linked to COVID-19 vaccine | Fact check

Chris Mueller, USA TODAY
·2 min read
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The claim: Post implies tennis player's collapse at Miami Open is linked to COVID-19 vaccine

A March 19 Instagram video (direct link, archive link) shows a tennis player collapsing on the court during a match.

"21 year old French tennis player Arthur Cazaux, world No. 74, suddenly collapses at the Miami Open," reads text around the video. "Everyday (sic) I thank God for not taking the experiment."

Some commenters connected the incident to the COVID-19 vaccine.

"The unvaccinated were right all along," reads one comment.

"Vaccine strikes again," reads another.

The post was liked more than 1,000 times in eight days.

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Our rating: Missing context

The implied claim is wrong. There is no evidence to connect Cazaux's collapse to the vaccine. His agent told a French news outlet he suffered from heat stroke.

No evidence linking tennis player's collapse to COVID-19 vaccine

Cazaux collapsed during the third set of his match March 18 at the Miami Open. He was taken off the court in a wheelchair and hospitalized, Express reported.

However, no credible reports link Cazaux's collapse to the COVID-19 vaccine.

In a statement released March 19 on X, formerly Twitter, Cazaux said, "I just left the hospital in Miami after spending the night receiving treatment and a long series of tests. Today I am better. My blood pressure and my heart remained stable, according to a Google translation.

Gérard Tsobanian, Cazaux's agent, told La Depeche, a French news outlet, that the incident was a "big scare" but that "it was just a heat stroke," according to a Google translation. Tsobanian did not immediately respond to a request for comment from USA TODAY.

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Stéphane Huet, Cazaux's trainer, told L'Equipe, a French sports outlet, that Cazaux "suffered a slight illness with loss of consciousness," according to a Google translation.

"It wasn't something trivial," Huet said. "He then had severe generalized cramps."

L'Equipe also reported that Cazaux suffered from severe dehydration. The high temperature for March 18 in Miami Gardens, the site of the Miami Open, was 91 degrees, according to AccuWeather.

USA TODAY reached out to the social media user who shared the post for comment but did not immediately receive a response.

Reuters also debunked the claim.

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: No evidence Miami tennis collapse was vaccine related | Fact check