Djokovic confirms that he has not been vaccinated, but will play the Australian Open with an exemption

Djokovic, who had so far refused to reveal whether or not he had been vaccinated, previously claimed that he was not sure if he would compete at the Grand Slam due to restrictions on entering Australia.

“I had a fantastic time with my loved ones over the holidays and today I am heading to ‘Down Under’ (a colloquial way of defining Australia in English) with a exemption permit“said the Serbian player on his social networks.

Only fully immunized players or players with a medical exemption can compete in the first Grand Slam tournament of the year due to the requirements to enter the country.

Djokovic recently canceled his participation in the ATP Cup and left his trip to Melbourne open until the end.

The 34-year-old tennis player also translated his message into Serbian, in which he indicates that he is traveling to Australia after obtaining the exemption and is ready to “live and breathe tennis for the next few weeks. Thank you for all your support!”

The statements of the world’s first racket confirm that the player is not vaccinated and the exemption is the only way to enter the country.

Djokovic’s attendance at the tournament, which he has won nine times, has been a matter of enormous controversy in Australia, whose prime minister, Scott MorrisonHe said last December that there would be no favorable treatment for him to enter the country.

If he wins at the next Australian Open, which takes place in Melbourne between January 17 and 30, Djokovic would surpass Rafa Nadal and the Swiss Roger Federer with 21 Grand Slam titles.

The Serbian tennis player has been seen in one controversy after another because of his position on vaccines.

“Against vaccination”

“Personally, I am against vaccination and I would not like someone to force me to get vaccinated in order to travel“Djokovic said during a comment in a direct on social networks in April 2020, in the worst of the first wave of the pandemic and when drugs against Covid had not yet been developed.

After the controversy, he clarified in a statement that kept an “open mind” and that she wanted to choose what was best for her body.

Later, he organized a tournament in Belgrade, the Adria Tour, in which both the players and the public did not respect basic rules to avoid infections.

‘Nole’ received in June 2020 the players of the tournament, with which it was intended to recover rhythm after the stoppage of confinements, with hugs, claps and no masks. The result was up to eight infections between participants and their families, as well as the suspension of the tournament. Among the positives were Djokovic himself and his wife, as well as the Bulgarian tennis player Grigor Dimitrov and the Serbian Victor Troicki.

Once the Covid vaccines appeared, Djokovic refused to reveal whether or not he had been immunized, arguing that he did not want to enter a media “game”.

“It is something in which I do not want to be involved (…) I do not want to answer that question and I hope that everyone will understand it,” he said in April 2021.

“Natural healing”

Djokovic is known to be an advocate of natural healing, and resisted surgery for a right elbow injury before deciding on surgery in 2018.

“I try to be as natural as possible and I believe that our bodies heal themselves. I never want to put myself in a situation where I have to undergo another surgery, “he argued then his decision.

The tennis player has also been criticized for direct sharing on social networks with an American ‘guru’ who promises to strengthen the immune system with unscientific practices, while maintaining falsehoods such as that you can change the molecular structure of water with your emotions.