Djokovic leaves Australia; vaccine debate goes on
Australia made its decision, but opinion remains divided worldwide on Novak Djokovic and whether he should have been allowed to compete in the Australian Open despite not being vaccinated against COVID-19.
At a tennis center in Phoenix on Sunday, employee Stan Taylor said the lobby was abuzz with just one question as players arrived: “What do you think about Novak Djokovic?”
There was no consensus on whether the No. 1 men’s singles player had tried to game the system in seeking an exemption to Australia’s strict vaccination rules or had the right to defend his title at the Open. In the end, the country’s immigration minister revoked his visa on public interest grounds, and Djokovic was deported Sunday.
The 34-year-old said he was “extremely disappointed” by a court’s decision that led to his deportation. But he added that he respected the ruling and would cooperate with authorities.
Because Djokovic has withdrawn from the tournament after Monday’s schedule was released, he has been replaced in the field by s Italian Salvatore Caruso, ranked 150th in the world.
Taylor said he knows Djokovic has favored unconventional approaches all of his life, but he wanted to see the tennis star display leadership in the polarizing COVID-19 vaccine debate. “I love to watch him do battle,” said Taylor, who lives in Phoenix and has closely followed the saga. “I’ve watched him snatch victory from the mouth of defeat. …. So he loves the game, but this thing was not something to get on the soapbox about. He chose the wrong fight, and he lost.”
Djokovic received an exemption to vaccination rules to play in the Australian Open, based on a previous coronavirus infection. But upon arrival, border officials said the exemption was not valid and moved to deport him – sparking a 10-day legal battle and an ongoing political drama.
The tennis player has also become an unwitting hero to the anti-vaccine movement. One protester raised a poster in support of the tennis star at a rally in the Netherlands on Sunday.
Others were quick to criticize. One of Italy’s greatest tennis players, Adriano Panatta, called Djokovic’s expulsion from Australia “the most natural epilogue of this affair.”
At this stage, Djokovic could still play in the next Grand Slam tournament, the French Open in May-June – if virus rules don’t change before then. The same could be true for Wimbledon. England has allowed exemptions from various coronavirus regulations for visiting athletes, if they remain at their accommodation when not competing or training. The U.S. Tennis Association, which runs the US Open, has said it will follow rules set out by the federal, state and local governments when it comes to vaccinations.