Djokovic gets OK for Aussie
MELBOURNE, Australia — A year after Novak Djokovic’s high-profile deportation from Australia because he is not vaccinated against COVID-19, the 21-time Grand Slam champion will be granted a visa to enter the country so he can compete at the Australian Open in January.
The Australian Broadcasting Corp., said Tuesday it had confirmed reports that the immigration minister would put aside a potential threeyear ban from entry that Djokovic, a 35-year-old from Serbia, had faced as a foreign citizen whose visa was revoked.
The Australian Border Force previously explained that exclusion period could be waived in certain circumstances.
Djokovic currently is participating in the season-ending ATP Finals in Turin, Italy, and is next scheduled to play — and speak to the media — on Wednesday.
Djokovic indicated Monday that his lawyers were in touch with the Australian government with an eye to him being able to contest the Australian Open, which runs from Jan. 16-29.
The nine-time Australian Open champion wasn’t allowed to seek a 10th title at Melbourne Park after a tumultuous 10-day legal saga early this year over his COVID19 vaccination status that culminated with his visa being taken away on the eve of the tournament.
Djokovic arrived at Melbourne Airport with a visa he had obtained online via what he believed to be a valid medical exemption from the country’s strict laws governing unvaccinated visitors. His application had been endorsed by Tennis Australia and the government of Victoria state, which hosts the tournament.
Confusion reigned, generating global headlines. As it turned out, that apparent medical exemption allowed him to enter the tournament — which, in theory, required all players, fans and officials to be vaccinated against the coronavirus — but not necessarily to enter the country, and it was rejected by the Australian Border Force.
Alex Hawke, Australia’s immigration minister at the time, used discretionary powers to cancel Djokovic’s visa on character grounds, stating he was a “talisman of a community of anti-vaccine sentiment.”
Australia has had a change of government since and changed its border rules this year. Since July, incoming travelers no longer have to provide proof of receiving shots against COVID19. That removed the major barrier to entry for Djokovic, who says he has not been — and will not be — vaccinated against the coronavirus, even if it means he misses important tennis tournaments.
Indeed, he sat out the U.S. Open in September, and other events in the U.S., because he could not fly into the country as an unvaccinated foreign citizen. He was allowed to play in the French Open, and at Wimbledon, which he won.
“I don’t have any regrets. I do feel sad that I wasn’t able to play (at the U.S. Open), but that was a decision that I made and I knew what the consequences would be,” Djokovic said in September. “So I accepted them.”