Tennis star Novak Djokovic said he’s not sure if he will participate in the Australian Open next year due to the state of Victoria’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate, The Washington Post reported.<\/p>\n
“Things being as they are, I still don’t know if I will go to Melbourne,” Djokovic told a Serbian media outlet on Monday, according to the Post.<\/p>\n
Djokovic also referred to his vaccination status as a “private matter,” saying that people are quick to judge a person on their personal choice.<\/p>\n
“I will not reveal my status whether I have been vaccinated or not. It is a private matter and an inappropriate inquiry. People go too far these days in taking the liberty to ask questions and judge a person. Whatever you say, ‘Yes, no, maybe, I am thinking about it,’ they will take advantage,” he added.<\/p>\n
Victoria, where the Australian Open takes place, has implemented a vaccine mandate for professional athletes, according to Reuters.<\/p>\n
Players who participated in this year’s Australian Open were required to quarantine for two weeks in a hotel before arriving in the country, according to the Post.<\/p>\n
The premier of Victoria, Daniel Andrews, said during a news conference on Tuesday that players’ ability to get a visa to participate in the upcoming tennis tournament will depend on their vaccination status.<\/p>\n
“I don’t think an unvaccinated tennis player is going to get a visa to come into this country,” Andrews said. “And if they did get a visa, they’d probably have to quarantine for a couple of weeks when no other player has to. … I don’t think any other tennis player, or golfer, or Formula One driver, will even get a visa to get here.”<\/p>\n
Andrews mentioned that athletes participating in events must be vaccinated “to keep yourself safe and to keep others safe,” the Post reported.<\/p>\n
Djokovic, who is tied with Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer for the most Grand Slam titles among male players, joins a growing list of prominent figures in sports voicing their hesitancy about the COVID-19 vaccine.<\/p>\n
Washington State University dismissed head football coach Nick Rolovich on Monday for failing to comply with the state’s vaccine mandate.<\/p>\n
Djokovic, who won three Grand Slam titles this year, expressed his optimism about competing in the tournament, saying he expects a final decision from Australian leaders to be made in two weeks’ time, the Post noted.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Tennis star Novak Djokovic said he’s not sure if he will participate in the Australian Open next year due to the state of Victoria’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate, The Washington Post reported. “Things being as they are, I still don’t know if I will go to Melbourne,” Djokovic told a Serbian media outlet on Monday, according […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":222532,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-222527","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sports"},"yoast_head":"\n