Unvaccinated players ‘Banned’ from the 2022 Australian Open, confirms Craig Tiley
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Australian Open
On expected terms, the 2022 Australian Open will now officially be played with unvaccinated players. It was speculated from days that such a rule will be imposed by the management for player and it has now been confirmed.
Australian Open CEO Craig Tiley first confirmed the decision in an interview with The Today Show Saturday morning from Melbourne.
A few days ago, Victoria Premier Daniel Andrews previously had firmly said that those without the COVID-19 vaccine would not be able enter the country. However, a different idea was floated when Prime Minister Scott Morrison that unvaccinated competitors would be permitted to enter Australia provided they underwent a two-week hard quarantine.
However, now, Tiley has confirmed against it. “It’s been made very clear when the Premier announced several weeks ago that in order to participate at the Australian Open, to come into Victoria, you’ll need to be fully vaccinated. Immediately, we communicated that to the playing group,” Tiley said.
“It is the one direction that you take [where] you can ensure everyone’s safety. All the playing group understands it. Our patrons will need to be vaccinated, all the staff working the Australian Open need to be vaccinated. When we’re in a state where there’s more than 90 percent of the population fully vaccinated, it’s the right thing to do.”
Will Novak Djokovic defend his Australian Open title?
The big question coming after this news is whether 9-time Australian Open champion Novak Djokovic will come to Melbourne to defend his title or not. Djokovic has multiple times asserted that taking the COVID vaccine shouldn’t be made mandatory and rather should be a personal choice.
Show presenter and journalist Jayne Azzopardi inquired about the status of Djokovic to Tiley to which he said, “We’re expecting Novak to come. The good news is that most of the tennis players, both on men and women’s side, are fully vaccinated. Novak, as he’s previously said, that’s a private issue for him.”
“He’s always said that the Australian Open is the event that puts the wind in his sails. I hope we get to see Novak.”
Well the ball is on truly in Djokovic’ court. It will be interesting to see if he changes his stance on the COVID vaccine just to play the Australian Open down under.
Also read: Rafael Nadal praises Garbine Muguruza for winning the 2021 WTA Finals
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Lakshya Chopra
(2595 Articles Published)