Tennis
Will Djokovic be without Grand Slams? He can’t even go to Rolland Garros without vaccinations. No exceptions, it sounds from France
Novak Djokovic is going to have a very tough year. Due to refusal of vaccinations he cannot compete at the Australian Open, but he may not play any Grand Slam. The world number one could fall from his throne very quickly.
Novak Djokovic is going to have a very tough year. Due to refusal of vaccinations he cannot compete at the Australian Open, but he may not play any Grand Slam. The world number one could fall from his throne very quickly.
It was clearly the most watched case of the beginning of 2022. Unvaccinated Novak Djokovic flew to Australia for the first Grand Slam of the year, although the country does not allow anyone without vaccinations to cross the border. He wanted to start on an exemption due to having a covid in December, but was deported from Australia after a court tangle.
So he won’t be competing at the Australian Open and quite possibly it will cost him the world number one position. Either Daniil Medvedev or Alexander Zverev can dethrone him. But that’s the least of it, Djokovic wants to become the tennis player with the most grand slams in history and lose his favourite tournament, which he has already won nine times.
And he may well miss out on other grand slams. A law was passed in France on Sunday night into Monday that prevents unvaccinated people from entering restaurants or sports facilities. Following this, the sports ministry said it does not intend to grant any exemptions to unvaccinated tennis players.
In practice, this would mean that if Djokovic does not change his mind and get vaccinated, he will miss the French Open. And he could have further problems at the third Grand Slam, Wimbledon is also not guaranteed to start without vaccination. Missing three grand slams out of four would be a huge blow for Djokovic.
“The rules will apply to everyone, whether they are a spectator or an athlete. Until further notice. Roland Garros is in May. The situation may change by then and we obviously hope it will be more favourable. So we’ll see, but there are certainly no exceptions to the current rules,” Reuters shared a statement from the French sports ministry.
Source: Sport, Reuters, Livesport
