According to Australian media, former world No.1 Novak Djokovic will be granted a visa to participate in the Australian Open 2023, despite being expelled from the country last January due to his lack of vaccination against Covid. -19.
Former world No.1 Novak Djokovic will be granted a visa to participate in the Australian Open 2023, national media reported on Tuesday, despite being expelled from the country last January due to his lack of vaccination against Covid. -19. The Australian government has decided to grant a visa to the Serbian, a record nine-time Australian Open winner, national broadcaster ABC and other media reported. At the start of the year, Djokovic, not vaccinated against Covid-19, had been detained on his arrival in Melbourne and then expelled just before the start of the tournament, after a legal battle over his visa.
It’s up to the federal government to decide
Australia has since lifted the requirement for visitors to present proof of Covid vaccination, but the player had also been banned from entering the territory for three years. This latest measure can be reversed at the discretion of Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s centre-left government, which took over from the then-ruling conservative coalition. Asked by AFP on Tuesday, the Australian Department of Immigration and the Australian Tennis Federation have not commented for the moment. Last month, Australian Open director Craig Tiley said he had spent time with Djokovic and that the Serb wanted to play in the first Grand Slam tournament of 2023 (January 16-29).
“He said he obviously would like to come back to Australia, but he knows the final decision will be up to the federal government,” the official told The Age newspaper. “He accepted this position. It’s a private matter between them.” “What we’re saying at this point is that Novak and the feds need to fix the situation. We’ll follow any instructions after that,” he said.