‘More trouble for Djokovic’: Unvaccinated players unlikely to get visas to feature in 2022 Australian Open, informs Official
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Novak Djokovic
Covid-19 pandemic wreaked havoc all across the globe. Just like every other sport, Tennis was also hugely affected. Thankfully, after a while, things started coming back on track as vaccines came into the picture and a lot of players got themselves jabbed in no time.
However, many players are still refusing to take vaccines, and authorities around the globe are not liking this. Taking a stringent step to ensure the safety of all personnel involved in the tournament, The Australian authorities are planning to give visas only to those players who get jabbed.
World No. 1 Novak Djokovic recently refused to talk about his vaccination status and made a few statements regarding the particular subject after which the Australian authorities have claimed in a media briefing that in all probability, non-vaccinated players will not be allowed to play in the tournament.
“I don’t think an unvaccinated tennis player is going to get a visa”: Victoria state Premier Daniel Andrews
“I don’t think an unvaccinated tennis player is going to get a visa to come into this country and if they did get a visa they’d probably have to quarantine for a couple of weeks,” Victoria state Premier Daniel Andrews told a media briefing. Victoria, where the first Grand Slam of the season is set to take place, has introduced a vaccine mandate for professional athletes.
This means that Novak Djokovic, the defending champion might not get the chance to play in the marquee tournament. Recently, talking about getting jabbed Djokovic claimed, “there is excessive speculation, from the media as well, which bothers me a lot. I have not spoken too much (on vaccination) because everyone was making assumptions based on something I have said a year ago.”
He went on to add that he is not sure if he will defend his title at the Australian Open. Moreover, with Australian authorities leaving no stone unturned in mandating vaccination, it truly seems unlikely that we will get to see the champion from Serbia competing for his 21st Grand Slam title in Australia next year.
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Shubham Bhargava
(1813 Articles Published)