Australian Prime Minister about sending away Novak Djokovic: ‘No one is above our rules’ Tennis

Djokovic arrived at the airport in Melbourne on Wednesday but was denied entry to Australia. His visa was declared invalid. As a result, he is unlikely to be able to defend his title at the Australian Open, which starts on January 17. His lawyers are still trying to prevent immediate deportation from Australia.

“Mr Djokovic failed to provide proper evidence to meet the entry requirements for Australia and his visa was revoked,” authorities said at the airport. “Non-citizens who do not have a valid visa on entry or whose visas have been canceled will be detained and removed from Australia. We will continue to ensure that those who arrive at our borders abide by our laws and entry requirements.”

Novak Djokovic won the Australian Open last year.

ⓒ HH/ANP

Djokovic reported on Tuesday that he had been granted a medical exemption to travel to Australia. The 20-time grand slam winner has not wanted to say in recent months whether he has been vaccinated against the corona virus, something that is mandatory for participants in the first grand slam tournament of the year.

According to the Australian Open organizers, two independent panels of medical experts have reviewed Djokovic’s request for a waiver. They came to the conclusion that the 34-year-old Serb qualifies for this. That decision sparked great anger among many Australians, who have had to undergo severe lockdowns or other restrictions in the past two years.

No special treatment

Australian Open director Craig Tiley said Djokovic had not received any special treatment with his application. However, he had urged the title holder to disclose why he had been granted the medical exemption. One of the requirements for entry into Australia without a vaccine is that a person has had the coronavirus in the past six months. It is not known whether that was the case with Djokovic.

“Anyone who meets the conditions can enter. No special favor was granted. No special opportunity has been given to Novak,” Tiley argued.

Djokovic was critical in April 2020 about a possible mandatory vaccination to participate in tournaments. “Personally, I’m not pro-vaccines,” he said at the time. “I wouldn’t want anyone to force me to get vaccinated so I can travel.”