The Serbian team for the January event in Australia was named on Tuesday, a move that comes after months of speculation about Novak's ability to travel to Australia, which has mandated Covid-19 vaccines for all incoming travelers including visiting athletes.
Novak Djokovic of Serbia won the Men's Singles Final at the Australian Open.
The images are from the same company.
The world number one player was listed as a member of Serbia's five-man team when the draw for the tournament was made on Tuesday.
The first Grand Slam event of the year, the Australian Open in Melbourne, will be held in early January.
The top 20 players in the world are participating in the tournament, but two of them are not.
It's not clear if the Serbian team player has disclosed his vaccine status to authorities, which is a requirement for all incoming travelers into Australia.
In October, Novak Djokovic told Serbian tabloid Blic that he was unsure about traveling to Australia to defend his Australian Open title, which has put his participation in the first major event of the tennis calendar in question. The 20-time grand slam winner insisted he will not reveal his vaccination status as it is a private matter and added that people were going too far these days in taking the liberty to ask questions and judge a person. The host state of the Australian Open insisted that all incoming athletes have to be fully vaccine free. Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison offered a solution to the problem if the host state applied for a special exemption on their behalf and they agreed to serve a 14-day quark. Victoria's premier told the press that the state will not be applying for any exemptions for unvaccinated players.
The circumstances of his participation in the tournament remain unclear as he has not disclosed his vaccine status. If he is allowed to travel to Australia to play in the ATP Cup he will either have to prove that he is fully vaccined or the state of New South Wales will have to apply for a special exemption for him.
Nadal is missing from the Serbia team for the Australian tournament.
Australian Open Host State Shuts Door On Unvaccinated Players.
