It’s been months of rumors around whether or not Novak Djokovic, who has refused to share his vaccination status with the public, is going to compete at the Australian Open 2022, which starts on January 17.
In November, Tennis Australia confirmed that all players must be fully vaccinated to compete in the tournament, as part of Victoria’s government rules. However, on Tuesday night, it was known that some players could get medical exemptions to participate in the first Grand Slam of the year, according to director’s tournament Craig Tiley, as informed by Simon Lowe.
“We want to have the best players here, I’d love to have Novak here. If he meets those conditions then great, if not, it’s disappointing,” said Tiley, according to the BBC. But, why dopeople say Djokovic is an anti-vaxxer? Here’s everything the Serbian has said regarding vaccines mandates.
Australian Open 2022: Everything Novak Djokovic has said about vaccines
April 2020 – “I’m opposed to vaccination” in order to travel
In April 2020, Djokovic surprised everyone when he said he was “opposed” to vaccination during a livestream. “Personally, I am opposed to vaccination, and I wouldn’t want to be forced by someone to take a vaccine in order to be able to travel.”
Later, he released a statement, saying he wasn’t “no expert, but I do want to have an option to choose what’s best for my body.” He added he would “continue to research this topic because it is important and it will affect all of us.”
September 2021 – “I amnot against vaccination of any kind”
In an interview with Christopher Clarey of the New York Times, Djokovic clarified his comments once again: “My issue here with vaccines is if someone is forcing me to put something in my body that I don’t want. For me that’s unacceptable. I am not against vaccination of any kind, because who am I to speak about vaccines when there are people that have been in the field of medicine and saving lives around the world? I’m sure that there are vaccines that have little side effects that have helped people and helped stop the spread of some infections around the world.”
April 2021 – “I believe in freedom of choice”
Then, the 20-Grand Slam champion said he has been the most vocal against disclosing his vaccinated status, citing “freedom of choice” as his main reason. “I don’t think it’ll come to that (vaccine mandate). I hope not, because I’ve always believed in freedom of choice,” Djokovic told reporters after the clay-court season back in April.
October 2021 – “I will not reveal my status, whether I’m vaccinated or not”
In October, he told Serbian paper Blic that he didn’t know if he was going to Australia. “I don’t know what’s going on. Currently, the situation is not good at all.” He added: “The media has become… I have no words to describe it. It spreads fear and panic among people and I don’t want to participate in that rift. I feel that everyone is hostile. I don’t want to give them a reason to write some things about me.”
In the same interview, he stated: “I have my opinion and it has always been the same. I will not reveal my status whether I have been vaccinated or not.” However, not everything was about the vaccines: “I’m telling you from the sporting point of view, I don’t know if I’ll go.”