After being kicked out of the country in January due to his refusal to get the vaccine, top-ranked male tennis player Novak Djokovic said Friday he hopes to play in the Australian Open again.
Novak Djokovic won his French Open match.
During a press conference after his third round win in the French Open, he said he would love to return to Australia to compete in the Australian Open.
The 35-year-old Serbian told reporters that he had no new information about whether he would be approved for a visa in the future.
Travelers to Australia are still required to bevaccinated against Covid-19.
The Australian government revoked a visa that had been issued to him because he had qualified for a medical exemption from the country, after he refused to get a vaccine. Scott Morrison backed lower authorities in their decisions to detain, hold and deport the tennis star. No one is above the rules, even if they are foreign travelers who are required to be vaccine against Covid-19.
The Grand Slam tournament said in March that it would not require participants to be vaccine free. Several top players won't be able to compete in Wimbledon because of the tournament's ban on Russian and Belarusian athletes. The ban is crazy, according to Djokovic.
In the fourth round of the French Open, the Serbian will play Diego Schwartzman, while Nadal will play him in the quarterfinals. This year's Australian Open was Nadal's 14th career Grand Slam, breaking a tie with both Roger and Novak.
The New York Times has a story about the debacle.
The vaccine requirement was dropped, which means that Djokovic can play Wimbledon.
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