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      Australia Court Hears Novak Djokovic's Appeal

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      His lawyer argued that the tennis star had met all government requirements before flying to the country to compete in the Australian Open.SYDNEY, Australia — A lawyer for Novak Djokovic, the Serbian tennis star, argued in an Australian court on Monday that the government had erred in canceling a visa for Djokovic because he had complied with all the government’s requirements even though he has not been vaccinated for Covid-19.The hearing came five days after Djokovic was detained at an airport after arriving on a flight from Dubai to compete at the Australian Open.Djokovic landed late Wednesday with a visa and a vaccination exemption to play in the tournament, which begins Jan. 17, but border officials canceled the visa with the support of Prime Minister Scott Morrison. The authorities said that Djokovic did not qualify for an exemption from the requirement that everyone entering the country be fully vaccinated.The drawn-out conflict over the world’s top men’s tennis player, who is seeking to win a record-breaking 21st Grand Slam title, landed at the start of an election year in Australia and kicked off another round of international debate over vaccine politics.With the Omicron variant pushing Covid case numbers to new heights both in Australia and the rest of the world, Djokovic’s detention pits those who argue that vaccination is more important than ever for preventing serious illness against those who insist that no one should be forced into inoculation.On multiple occasions, Djokovic has stated his opposition to vaccine mandates, saying that vaccination is a private and personal decision. He had not, however, revealed until last week whether he had been vaccinated.In a court filing on Saturday, Djokovic’s lawyers said that the tennis star tested positive for the coronavirus in mid-December, and that the Australian government had erred in canceling his visa over the vaccine requirement.The Novak Djokovic Standoff with AustraliaWhat Happened: The No. 1-ranked men’s tennis player was refused entry to Australia over questions about a Covid vaccine exemption.Understand the Standoff: Mr. Djokovic, a vaccine skeptic, was granted an exemption that would allow him to defend his Australian Open title. Then the federal government stepped in.A Difficult Moment in Australia: Barring the tennis star offers a chance to change the subject as an election looms and cases are at record highs.Exemption Skepticism: Here’s how the tennis world initially reacted to the news that Djokovic was granted an exemption.On Monday, Anthony Kelly, the federal court judge overseeing Djokovic’s appeal, noted during the hearing that his visa application had included a medical exemption from a physician, supported by an independent panel convened by the Victoria state government.“The point I’m somewhat agitated about is, what more could this man have done?” Judge Kelly said.But the federal government’s lawyers, in their filing, said that past Covid-19 infections were not a valid reason to defer immunization against the virus.Under vaccine guidelines issued in December by the country’s chief medical body, people are expected to be vaccinated against Covid-19 after recovering from “acute major medical illness,” and, the government argued, “the evidence is that the applicant has recovered.”It is not clear if or when Djokovic was ill. On Dec. 16, the day he said he tested positive, he appeared at a live-streamed public event. The following day, he appeared at an awards ceremony for junior players, where photographs showed that he was not wearing a mask.What is clear, even to many Australians who say that the rules should be applied to everyone, including sports superstars, is that they are embarrassed by the whole affair. Australia’s entry process for the tournament, and international travel generally during the pandemic, has been marred by confusion, dysfunction and political point-scoring that all add up to an image of incompetence.Djokovic inadvertently joined the fray on Tuesday, when he announced on Twitter that he had received a medical exemption from the requirement that all people entering Australia be vaccinated or quarantine for 14 days upon arrival.In a statement later that day, Craig Tiley, the chief executive of Tennis Australia, explained that players seeking an exemption had to pass muster with two panels of medical experts. The process included the redaction of personal information to ensure privacy.Communications between national health officials and Tennis Australia, and between Tennis Australia and players, have revealed contradictory messages about whether unvaccinated people infected with the coronavirus during the past six months would receive an automatic medical exemption.Federal officials wrote to Tiley in November to indicate that testing positive for the virus during the past six months would not be sufficient to gain automatic entry into the country without vaccination. But letters leaked to Australian news outlets showed that an adviser to Australia’s federal chief health officer had also told Tennis Australia that the state of Victoria, where the tournament is being held, was responsible for assessing exemptions.On Dec. 2, Brett Sutton, the chief health officer in Victoria, wrote to Tennis Australia: “Anyone with a history of recent Covid-19 infection (defined as within 6 months) and who can provide appropriate evidence of this medical history, is exempt from quarantine obligations upon arrival in Victoria from overseas.”Five days later, Tennis Australia passed on the message to players.Djokovic landed at Tullamarine Airport in Melbourne around 11:30 p.m. on Wednesday. After a nearly 10-hour standoff at the airport, border officials said he would have to leave the country. He was held in a room overnight over the validity of his visa and questions about the evidence supporting his medical exemption.His team filed a legal challenge to the ruling on Thursday. A judge said Djokovic would be allowed to remain in Australia at a hotel that houses refugees at least until Monday as his lawyers awaited a hearing.By that point, the decision had already become political. Australian leaders have a long history of winning elections with tough talk on border enforcement, despite the country’s harsh treatment of asylum seekers in offshore detention centers, and Mr. Morrison has followed a predictable script.Facing a tough re-election campaign as the economy starts to seize up from a surge of absences caused by an Omicron outbreak and a shortage of testing capacity, he pounced on the decision to cancel Djokovic’s visa, trying to frame it as a clear-cut case of law and order.“Rules are rules,” he said, adding, “Our government has strong form when it comes to securing our borders, and I don’t think anybody doubts that.”Critics of Australia’s immigration policies said they were dismayed, but not surprised. The hotel where Djokovic is staying holds dozens of refugees, including some who have been detained for nearly a decade.“As a country, we have been shown over time to be very aggressive in enforcing immigration policy,” said Steven Hamilton, a former Australian Treasury official who teaches economics at George Washington University. “People overseas should view this through that prism rather than as a health measure. It has nothing to do with health.”On Friday, border officials told the Czech doubles player Renata Voracova that she, too, would have to leave the country, even though she had played matches in tuneup tournaments last week.Voracova, who was given a medical exemption because she has had Covid-19 during the past six months, was moved to the same hotel as Djokovic, but opted to leave the country voluntarily rather than fight the deportation ruling. More

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      Djokovic Tested Positive for Coronavirus in December, His Lawyers Say

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      Lawyers for the tennis star, who is appealing Australia’s decision to deny him entry, said the positive test came weeks before he flew to the country.MELBOURNE, Australia — In a court filing on Saturday, lawyers for Novak Djokovic said the tennis star had tested positive for the coronavirus in mid-December, and that the Australian government had erred this week in canceling his visa over a vaccine requirement.Mr. Djokovic, who hopes to defend his men’s singles title at the Australian Open this month, was denied permission to enter the country on Thursday after arriving at a Melbourne airport. The border authorities said they canceled his visa because he had not provided evidence to justify being exempted from Australia’s requirement that arrivals be vaccinated against the coronavirus.In the filing on Saturday, Mr. Djokovic’s lawyers said he had been granted a vaccine exemption by Tennis Australia because of a positive Dec. 16 coronavirus test result, and because 14 days later, he had not had a fever or respiratory symptoms in 72 hours.The conditions of the exemption were consistent with the recommendations of Australia’s immunization advisory body, the lawyers argued. Given these circumstances, among others, “Mr. Djokovic understood that he was entitled to enter Australia,” the filing read.Mr. Djokovic, a vaccine skeptic, is in quarantine at a hotel in Melbourne as he awaits a hearing, scheduled for Monday, on his appeal of the government’s decision to revoke his visa.The Novak Djokovic Standoff with AustraliaWhat Happened: The No. 1-ranked men’s tennis player was refused entry to Australia over questions about a Covid vaccine exemption.Understand the Standoff: Mr. Djokovic, a vaccine skeptic, was granted an exemption that would allow him to defend his Australian Open title. Then the federal government stepped in.A Difficult Moment in Australia: Barring the tennis star offers a chance to change the subject as an election looms and cases are at record highs.Exemption Skepticism: Here’s how the tennis world initially reacted to the news that Djokovic was granted an exemption.He announced in June 2020 that he and his wife had tested positive for the coronavirus, but his December infection had not previously been disclosed.Mr. Djokovic’s lawyers argue that the Australian authorities, in canceling his visa, “radically and fundamentally” misconstrued or misapplied advice from Australia’s immunization advisory body about whether a coronavirus infection within the past six months should exempt him from the vaccination requirement.The filing also claims that Mr. Djokovic was denied procedural fairness after arriving in Australia, when he was held at the airport by the immigration authorities from about midnight to 8 a.m.His lawyers say Mr. Djokovic was initially told by immigration officials that a decision about his visa would not be made until after 8:30 a.m., after he had a chance to speak to Tennis Australia officials. But around 6 a.m., they say, he was pressured to consent to an immediate decision. He relented, “feeling he had no choice,” and was notified at 7:42 a.m. that his visa had been canceled, according to the filing.The Australian Border Force declined to comment on the filing, citing the pending court hearing. Prime Minister Scott Morrison has said that the revocation of Mr. Djokovic’s visa was “simply a matter of following the rules.”If Mr. Djokovic’s appeal fails, he could be barred from entering Australia for three years, under rules applicable to people whose visas are canceled.Separately, the Australian Border Force on Saturday night said that two others linked to the tennis tournament whom it had been investigating had left the country.“The Australian Border Force (ABF) investigation into the visa status of two other individuals connected to the Australian Open has concluded,” it said in an emailed statement. “The ABF can confirm both individuals have now voluntarily departed Australia.”The statement did not identify the two individuals, but local news media had reported the investigations a few days earlier.On Friday, the Czech foreign ministry confirmed in a statement that a Czech player, Renata Voracova, had been placed in the same detention as Mr. Djokovic, along “with several other tennis players.” She had “proven noninfectious status in a way that entitles her to participate in the tournament,” and had already played at a warm-up event, the statement said, but had “decided to give up further participation in the tournament and leave Australia due to the limited possibility of training.”The Australia Broadcasting Corporation also reported that a European tennis official under similar circumstances had left the country. More

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      Novak Djokovic Collides With Australia’s Covid Fight

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      Barring the tennis star from entering the country offers a chance to change the subject as an election looms and coronavirus cases are at record highs.MELBOURNE, Australia — When Australia’s prime minister explained on Thursday why his government had barred Novak Djokovic, the men’s tennis superstar, from entering the country, he described it as “simply a matter of following the rules” requiring coronavirus vaccinations for incoming travelers.“People are put on planes and turned back all the time,” the prime minister, Scott Morrison, said.But Mr. Djokovic, who had a visa to travel to Australia and a vaccination exemption to compete in the Australian Open, collided not just with the country’s tough border restrictions after arriving at a Melbourne airport. He also found himself at the center of a highly charged moment in Australia’s fight against the coronavirus.With an election on the horizon, a sharp shift in pandemic strategy — from “Covid-zero” to “living with the virus” — has put Mr. Morrison’s government under intense pressure. Cases have surged to once unimaginable heights, pushing the country’s testing system to the limit and raising anxiety among a population that has already endured long lockdowns.After nearly two years of suppressing the virus, the Australian authorities began to change tack late last year as vaccination rates reached ambitious thresholds. Harsh restrictions that once kept people from traveling between states or to other countries, or from even leaving their homes, have been replaced by adages about “personal responsibility.”Novak Djokovic at the U.S. Open last year. Dismissive toward the pandemic, he has emerged as professional tennis’s most prominent vaccine skeptic.Ben Solomon for The New York TimesThe government was stepping back, however, just as the Omicron variant began to circulate. The country passed 10,000 new daily cases for the first time on Dec. 27, and the daily caseload has since surged to over 60,000.Deaths and hospitalizations have so far remained relatively stable. But the country’s testing system, devised to trace and suppress small outbreaks, has been overwhelmed by the explosion of cases, with reports of residents lining up for upward of six hours to get PCR tests and waiting nearly a week for results.Shortages of rapid antigen tests have left pharmacy and supermarket shelves bare, and there are concerns about hospital capacity amid reports that some coronavirus-positive nurses have been called back to work because of staffing gaps.All of that has left little sympathy in Australia for Mr. Djokovic, who has been dismissive toward the pandemic and emerged as professional tennis’s most prominent vaccine skeptic.That is particularly true in Melbourne, where the Australian Open is held, and where residents have endured a total of 256 days of lockdown, in part to spare the rest of Australia from outbreaks. Unvaccinated Melburnians are still barred from some activities, and those wishing to watch the Australian Open must be vaccinated.Melbourne last month. Australia passed 10,000 new daily Covid cases for the first time on Dec. 27, and the daily caseload has since surged to over 60,000.Diego Fedele/Getty Images“Against this background of community anxiety and in the context of a public fatigued by extended coronavirus lockdowns and scrambling to access vaccine booster shots,” said Paul Strangio, a politics professor at Monash University in Melbourne, it was inevitable that news of Mr. Djokovic’s vaccination exemption “was going to provoke howls of outrage.”For Mr. Morrison, a conservative who is looking to extend his tenure as prime minister after winning an election upset in 2019, the Djokovic case offers a chance to change the subject. After days of harsh criticism over his government’s failure to secure adequate supplies of at-home tests and its reluctance to provide them at no charge, he is now championing the country’s strong defense of its borders to safeguard the population.Mr. Morrison has appeared to embrace the decision to turn Mr. Djokovic away at the border as his coalition is trailing in public polls, with the main opposition party lashing him over the shortfalls in rapid antigen tests.“I think the government, under pressure, was looking to make a decision that was broadly popular and which would consume the attention of those watching federal politics,” said Mark Kenny, an expert in politics at the Australian National University.“Up until this decision, the overwhelming political issue was rapid antigen tests, and suddenly all the attention swings to this dramatic decision,” Professor Kenny added.Prime Minister Scott Morrison said the decision to bar Mr. Djokovic from entering the country was “simply a matter of following the rules.”Lukas Coch/EPA, via ShutterstockThere is also a less flattering light in which to view the baffling turn of events that led Mr. Djokovic to be questioned for hours by border officials before being sent to hotel quarantine pending a legal appeal scheduled for early next week.The Coronavirus Pandemic: Key Things to KnowCard 1 of 6The global surge. 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      Skepticism and anger greet Novak Djokovic’s vaccine exemption.

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      Some Australians reacted with fury at the announcement from the world’s No. 1 male tennis player, the sport’s most prominent vaccination skeptic.The news that Novak Djokovic had received a medical exemption to play in the Australian Open tournament this month in Melbourne spurred a range of reactions in Australia, where some politicians and tennis officials called on him to explain himself.Djokovic, the world’s No. 1 male tennis player and a prominent vaccination skeptic, announced on social media on Tuesday that he was “heading Down Under with an exemption permission.”The tournament’s organizers confirmed that he had been granted a medical exemption after a review process by two independent panels, a procedure that suggested he remained unvaccinated.Reaction among the pro tennis elite was somewhat measured. After Alex de Minaur and James Duckworth, who are both from Australia, absorbed the news, Duckworth said at a news briefing at the ATP Cup in Sydney, “If he’s fit the criteria, then, yeah, he should be able to come.”“That’s very politically correct of you,” de Minaur replied with a laugh. He added, “I just think it’s just very interesting; that’s all I’m going to say.”Other Australians used social media to express their anger at the decision. The hashtag #DjokovicOut trended on Twitter on Wednesday. Commentators pointed out that spectators at the Australian Open must be vaccinated.Stephen Parnis, a former vice president of the Australian Medical Association, tweeted: “I don’t care how good a tennis player he is. If he’s refusing to get vaccinated, he shouldn’t be allowed in. If this exemption is true, it sends an appalling message to millions seeking to reduce #COVID19Aus risk to themselves & others. #Vaccination shows respect, Novak.”Another Twitter user called it “a slap in the face of millions of Australians.”Jamie Murray of Britain said on Tuesday after his ATP Cup doubles match: “I think if it was me that wasn’t vaccinated, I wouldn’t be getting an exemption. But well done to him for getting clear to come to Australia and compete.”Djokovic has long held nontraditional views of science and medicine — he once asserted that prayer and belief could purify toxic water — and he has had a complicated relationship with the pandemic. He has also said that vaccination is a private and personal decision that should not be mandated. When the Australian Open announced that vaccines would be required to gain entry into the country, Djokovic’s father referred to the mandate as “blackmail.”Jacinta Allan, acting premier of Victoria state, where the Australian Open will be held, called on Djokovic to explain his reasons for attending the tournament.The Coronavirus Pandemic: Key Things to KnowCard 1 of 6The global surge. More

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      Novak Djokovic Is Refused Entry Into Australia Over Vaccine Exemption

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      The No. 1 men’s tennis player was told to leave the country following a 12-hour standoff with government officials at a Melbourne airport, ending his chance to defend his Australian Open title.Novak Djokovic, the world’s No. 1-ranked men’s tennis player, traveled all day Wednesday from Dubai to Australia, a journey that was supposed to begin his defense of the Australian Open singles championship.On Thursday, he was told he would need to leave the country, following a 12-hour standoff with government officials at a Melbourne airport, where he was held in a room overnight over questions about the evidence supporting a medical exemption from a coronavirus vaccine. The exemption was supposed to allow Djokovic, a 20-time Grand Slam tournament champion and one of the biggest stars in sports, to compete in the Australian Open even though he has not been vaccinated.It was not immediately clear whether Djokovic would appeal the ruling in Australia’s courts. A spokesman for the tennis star did not immediately respond to requests for comment.The chain of events represented a startling turnabout for Djokovic, who in a little more than 24 hours went from receiving special, last-minute permission to enter Australia, to boarding an intercontinental flight, to essentially being told by the prime minister of Australia that he was not welcome in the country.At one point President Aleksandar Vučić of Serbia even got involved, speaking with Djokovic and criticizing the Australian government for its treatment of his country’s biggest sports star.The pandemic has wreaked all manner of havoc with sports during the past two years. The Tokyo Summer Olympics were postponed for a year. Major events took place in empty stadiums. Star players have been sent into isolation just ahead of their competitions after testing positive for the virus.The situation involving Djokovic, one of the most polarizing figures in tennis, was a match for any of them. It turned on a confrontation between a sports superstar and the most powerful leader in one of the world’s most prosperous countries, where government officials, citizens, the media and even some fellow players, criticized the exemption, seemingly prompting the sudden shift.The decision promises to become another flashpoint in the debate about vaccines and how the pandemic should be managed now, especially in Australia, where egalitarianism is considered a sacred principle — and where “the tennis,” as the Open is called, is also beloved by what often seems like an entire nation of sports fanatics.In a statement Thursday, the Australian Border Force pledged to “continue to ensure that those who arrive at our border comply with our laws and entry requirements. The ABF can confirm that Mr. Djokovic failed to provide appropriate evidence to meet the entry requirements to Australia, and his visa has been subsequently canceled.”For Djokovic, it was the latest and arguably the most wrenching controversy in a career that has been filled with them, nearly all which have been brought on by the behavior of a champion who can be as willful and unbending off the court as he is on it.Djokovic has never been shy about expressing his nontraditional views of science and medicine (he once voiced support for the idea that prayer and belief could purify toxic water), and he has stated on multiple occasions his opposition to vaccine mandates, saying vaccination is a private and personal decision that should not be mandated. However, he had not revealed until this week whether he had been vaccinated.On Tuesday, he announced on Twitter that he had received a medical exemption from the requirement that all people entering Australia be vaccinated or quarantine for 14 days upon arrival. He later boarded a plane bound for Australia from Dubai.In a statement later that day, Craig Tiley, the chief executive of Tennis Australia, explained that players seeking an exemption had to pass muster with two panels of medical experts. The process included the redaction of personal information to ensure privacy.“Fair and independent protocols were established for assessing medical exemption applications that will enable us to ensure Australian Open 2022 is safe and enjoyable for everyone,” Tiley said. “Central to this process was that the decisions were made by independent medical experts and that every applicant was given due consideration.”Tiley said Wednesday in a television interview that 26 players had applied for an exemption and “a handful” had been granted. According to Tiley, 99 percent of the more than 3,000 people coming to Australia for the tournament were vaccinated. The handful who were granted an exemption either had a medical condition or had Covid-19 during the past six months.Djokovic landed at Melbourne’s Tullamarine Airport around 11:30 p.m. on Wednesday. By then, he had become the central figure in a firestorm over how he had received permission to enter Australia, which is experiencing a startling rise in coronavirus cases.People wait in line at a walk-in Covid-19 testing site in Melbourne.Joel Carrett/EPA, via ShutterstockThe country has waged one of the most successful battles against Covid-19, but it has come at a steep price. Strict lockdowns have lasted for months. International borders were largely closed until recently. Inbound travelers had to adhere to an expensive, two-week quarantine upon arrival. For long periods, even domestic travel between states was prohibited. The country has experienced about 2,200 deaths, but since opening its borders late last year it is now dealing with more than 30,000 cases a day.As Djokovic flew to Melbourne, Australia’s prime minister, Scott Morrison, invoked the government’s authority to deny entry to Djokovic.“Any individual seeking to enter Australia must comply with our border requirements,” Morrison said.The Coronavirus Pandemic: Key Things to KnowCard 1 of 6The global surge. More

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      Skepticism Greets Novak Djokovic’s Vaccine Exemption

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      The world No. 1 received an exemption to a rule that players be vaccinated to play in the Australian Open. Government officials said they had the power to overturn it.Was there ever a doubt that Novak Djokovic, jab or no jab, would end up in Melbourne this month to defend his Australian Open title?Not seemingly among his competitors. Many of them figured as soon as the tournament announced late last year that players could apply for a medical exemption from the Covid-19 inoculation requirement that officials would find a way for Djokovic, the vaccine-averse, 20-time Grand Slam tournament champion, to compete for a record 10th title in Australia.And when that exemption came through on Tuesday, and Djokovic, a Serb ranked No. 1, posted a picture of himself on Twitter announcing his imminent departure for Australia, reaction among the pro tennis elite ranged from skeptical to inspired.Happy New Year! Wishing you all health, love & joy in every moment & may you feel love & respect towards all beings on this wonderful planet.I’ve spent fantastic quality time with loved ones over break & today I’m heading Down Under with an exemption permission. Let’s go 2022! pic.twitter.com/e688iSO2d4— Novak Djokovic (@DjokerNole) January 4, 2022
      There was this exchange from Alex de Minaur and James Duckworth, both of Australia, after they lost their singles matches in the ATP Cup, a team tournament in Sydney.“If he’s fit the criteria, then, yeah, he should be able to come,” Duckworth said.“That’s very politically correct of you,” de Minaur said with a laugh. “As James has very wisely put out there, I think he’s said all the right things there. Look, I just think it’s just very interesting, that’s all I’m going to say.”By Wednesday, Australian politicians were weighing in. The minister for home affairs, Karen Andrews, released a statement that suggested the government could revoke Djokovic’s exemption, and the country’s prime minister, Scott Morrison, said health officials expected to see evidence that Djokovic merited his exemption, and threatened to put the tennis star “on the next plane home” if he did not meet the strict requirements for one.“We await his presentation and what evidence he provides us to support that,” Morrison said. “If that evidence is insufficient, then he won’t be treated any different to anyone else and he’ll be on the next plane home. There should be no special rules for Novak Djokovic at all.”Djokovic, who is tied with Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer for the most Grand Slam men’s singles titles, has long held some nontraditional views of science and medicine (he once asserted that prayer and belief could purify toxic water) and has had a complicated relationship with the pandemic.In June 2020, when sports were still largely shut down, and long before experts deemed it safe for people to gather and for large events to take place, Djokovic organized a series of exhibition matches in Serbia and Croatia and invited several of the world’s top players to participate. They obliged, and several of them became infected with the coronavirus, including Djokovic.Eventually, vaccines became available and a debate ensued about requiring tennis players to get inoculated, to protect themselves, tennis fans and tournament organizers, since the tours are an 11-month journey around the world. Djokovic was adamantly against this. He has long said vaccination is a private and personal decision that should not be mandated.This placed him at odds with his chief rivals, Federer and Nadal, who are vaccinated. Just last month, Nadal said he did not have a position on a mandate but deferred to the experts who said vaccines were the best way to protect everyone.“I don’t pretend to know more than what the authorized people say,” Nadal said last month during his preparation for the Australian Open in the United Arab Emirates. He tested positive for the coronavirus upon his return to Spain. “If the people who really know about it say that we need to be vaccinated, who I am to create a different opinion?”Throughout last year, the WTA, the professional women’s tour, and the ATP, the men’s circuit, did not require a vaccination, though players often have had to adhere to staying within a strict bubblelike environment as they hopscotched the world.But then the Australian Open announced a vaccine would be required to gain entry into the country. Djokovic’s father referred to the mandate as “blackmail.” A confrontation between tournament organizers and Novak Djokovic appeared inevitable, producing mixed emotions at the top of the game.The Coronavirus Pandemic: Key Things to KnowCard 1 of 6The global surge. More

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      Djokovic Granted Covid-19 Vaccine Exemption to Play in Australian Open

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      Novak Djokovic, the world’s No. 1-ranked male tennis player and his sport’s most prominent vaccination skeptic, said on Tuesday that he would play in this month’s Australian Open after receiving a medical exemption.Djokovic, the men’s tournament’s defending champion, revealed his plans in a post on his Instagram account alongside a photograph of himself with luggage on an airport tarmac. “I’m heading Down Under with an exemption permission,” he wrote. “Let’s go 2022.”Tournament officials confirmed in a statement on Tuesday that Djokovic had received a medical exemption after a review of his application by two independent panels, a procedure that strongly suggests he remains unvaccinated.Djokovic’s participation in the Australian Open, the tennis season’s first major, was in doubt as recently as last week, when he reportedly withdrew from an event in Sydney. Djokovic, who has had Covid, has consistently refused to say whether he has been inoculated or intends to be.According to the rules for the Australian Open, all participants must be vaccinated against the coronavirus or apply for and receive a medical exemption from an independent panel of experts.In December, Djokovic’s father, Srdjan Djokovic, raised new questions about his son’s participation, and his vaccination status, when he suggested that Djokovic was unlikely to play in Australia “under these blackmails and conditions.”Those comments came only days before Novak Djokovic was named as a participant in the Australian Open by the tournament’s organizers when they released the entry list for the main draw.“Defending champion Djokovic will play for an incredible 10th Australian Open trophy — and a men’s record 21st major singles title — and will be the favorite in a draw which showcases 49 of the world’s top 50,” the tournament said in a statement announcing the field.But Craig Tiley, the chief executive of Tennis Australia, which hosts the tournament, quickly moved to clarify that Djokovic’s inclusion in the entry list was not a confirmation that he had agreed to be vaccinated, or that he would be allowed to enter Australia, which has some of the world’s most strict coronavirus protocols for foreigners.“As a matter of course, everyone goes on the entry list,” Tiley said in a local television interview at the time. “It’s not a commitment list about who’s exactly in the draw. That comes in several weeks’ time, when the actual list, and draw, gets finalized for the Australian Open.”The Open’s draw will be held Jan. 10. The tournament begins on Jan. 17. More

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      Serena Williams Will Miss Australian Open With Injury

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      Williams, 40, withdrew from her second straight Grand Slam event, saying, “I am not where I need to be physically to compete.”Serena Williams has announced her withdrawal from next month’s Australian Open, extending her absence from the sport that she long ruled.“I am not where I need to be physically to compete,” Williams said in an announcement on Wednesday as the Australian Open released the list of entered players for the 2022 tournament.Williams, a seven-time Australian Open singles champion, is now 40 and has not played on the WTA Tour since June 28, when she retired late in the first set of her opening round match at Wimbledon because of an injured right hamstring.The injury was slow to heal, and it also kept Williams from competing in this year’s U.S. Open. Williams did not mention the hamstring injury specifically in her statement on Wednesday, saying only that she had decided to withdraw because of “the advice from my medical team.”While Williams confirmed her absence, the Australian Open said that Novak Djokovic, the No. 1 men’s singles player, was entered in the event, which is set to begin Jan. 17 in Melbourne.The state government of Victoria is requiring that all players be fully vaccinated to compete, and Djokovic has declined in recent weeks to reveal his vaccination status or confirm if he will play in the Australian Open, where he has won nine singles titles. But he is on the entry list, only a week after his father decried the vaccination requirement as “these blackmails and conditions” and suggested his son would not play.Williams said she was “excited to return and compete at my highest level,” but it is unclear when or if she will be able to achieve that goal.Williams, ranked 41st, has not won a Grand Slam singles title in nearly five years: She captured the Australian Open in January 2017 when she was two months pregnant with her daughter, Olympia. She returned to the tour in 2018 after Olympia’s birth and remarkably reached the singles finals at Wimbledon and the U.S. Open in 2018 and again in 2019.But though she won her only tour title since her comeback in January 2020 in Auckland, New Zealand, she has struggled to sustain momentum. She has shown flashes of strong form, returning after the tour’s five-month pandemic hiatus in 2020 to reach the semifinals of the U.S. Open, where she lost a taut three-set duel against Victoria Azarenka. At this year’s Australian Open in February, Williams arrived in Melbourne in excellent physical condition and was impressive in the early rounds but was defeated in straight sets by Naomi Osaka in the semifinals.The Australian Open has been the scene of some of Williams’s greatest successes. In 2003, she won her fourth straight Grand Slam singles title in Melbourne. In 2005, she saved three match points in the semifinals in a classic match against Maria Sharapova and went on to beat Lindsay Davenport in the final. In 2007, she came into the tournament unseeded and swept to the title. In 2017, she won while pregnant without dropping a set.But it is now unclear if she will return to the tournament where she has won seven of her 23 Grand Slam singles titles: one short of Margaret Court’s record. More