MELBOURNE (Reuters) – Australian officials have rushed to regularize their decision to deny entry to Australia to world tennis number one Novak Djokovic for lack of proof of his COVID-19 vaccination.
The Serbian tennis player, whose vaccination status is not known but who has publicly criticized the vaccine obligations against COVID-19, is currently being accommodated in a detention center for migrants in Australia after the revocation of his visa intervened in the background of controversy concerning a medical exemption which had been granted to him to play the Australian Open Melbourne.
Novak Djokovic has taken legal action to contest the turnaround of the Australian authorities and still hopes to be able to participate in the Australian Open, a tournament of which he is the title holder and which is due to start on January 17.
The controversy shook the tennis world and saw the diplomatic incident between Canberra and Belgrade.
Australia said its health department warned the Australian tennis federation, which is hosting the event, in November that recent COVID-19 contamination did not warrant a medical exemption to enter the country.
Lawyers for Novak Djokovic have argued that the player received written permission to enter Australia from the Australian Home Secretary before traveling to the country.
A spokesperson for the Minister of the Interior could not be contacted immediately for comment.
Czech tennis player Renata Voracova left Australia on Saturday after she, too, was caught in the turmoil of visa cancellations over the medical exemptions granted to players wishing to compete in the Australian Open.
(French version Camille Raynaud)
by Courtney Walsh and Byron Kaye