Tuesday, January 04, 2022
Unvaccinated for Grand Slam tournament?
Australian Open make an exception for Djokovic
Novak Djokovic is a well-known vaccine skeptic, in Australia there are strict entry rules for unvaccinated people. For this reason, the start of the Serbian at the first peak of the year in Melbourne is on the brink for a long time. Now it is clear: Djokovic can start at the Australian Open, probably without a vaccination.
“I’m flying down under with a special permit”: Novak Djokovic announced the news, which the tennis world had been waiting for a long time, in a comparatively unspectacular way in a New Year’s greeting on Instagram. There is a lot of information in the short sentence. Above all: Djokovic, the greatest player in tennis history by numbers, will start at the Australian Open, which begins on January 17th. The Grand Slam tournament is the first highlight of the tennis year and Djokovic’s participation seemed unlikely in the meantime and until recently.
The Serb is an avowed vaccine skeptic, the organizers of the tournament are running a consistent anti-corona course, actually only vaccinated players are allowed to take part in the event. Special exemptions are only granted for medical reasons. The organizers of the Australian Open did not have a single medical exemption from unvaccinated tennis professionals by mid-December. Tournament director Craig Tiley announced this. He reckons with a “very small percentage” of players without a vaccination, said Tiley. “When Novak comes to the Australian Open, he will either be vaccinated or have a medical exemption.” Djokovic himself had always left his vaccination status and participation in the tournaments in Australia open, now he revealed himself via Instagram.
“Knows that he has to be vaccinated”
After Djokovic initially registered for the ATP Cup, which is currently taking place in Sydney, and is also on the list of participants for the Australian Open, speculation had arisen that an exemption might be granted for the superstar.
However, Deputy Prime Minister James Merlino said there were only a limited number of reasons for an exemption. “Everyone is looking forward to the Australian Open and everyone who will be attending – spectators, players, officials, staff – is expected to be fully vaccinated. Those are the rules. Medical exceptions are just that – it is not a loophole for the privileged Tennis player, “said Merlino, according to ABC. “It is a medical exception under exceptional circumstances when you have an acute illness.” The superstar did not write why Djokovic has now received one of the rare exemptions. The organizers have not yet commented either. In October Tiley had said directly to Djokovic: “We would love to see Novak here, but he knows that he has to be vaccinated to play.” That is now apparently out of date.
Competitor finds it “hypocritical”
In response, Djokovic’s father was angry. “Under these blackmail and circumstances, it is likely that he will not take part,” said Srdjan Djokovic on the Serbian television channel Prva TV. “Everyone has the right to choose their own health. Whether or not to be vaccinated is everyone’s choice,” he said.
The top ten player Felix Auger-Aliassime criticized the attitude of his unvaccinated colleagues in an interview with the TennisUpToDate portal in December: “I understand that some people believe that it should be a personal decision,” said Auger-Aliassime. “But that has consequences. It is unrealistic to tell the fans that they have to be vaccinated to protect us and the players don’t do it. That would be hypocritical.”
In December the “Herald Sun” reported that Pierre-Hugues Herbert, the first player for Australia, had canceled because he did not want to be vaccinated. The world-class doubles player said he was “not personally vaccinated. Traveling to Australia is not an option for me.” He does not want to reconsider his attitude towards vaccination: “For me it is a personal decision not to be vaccinated.” No further cancellations are currently known.