Serbian tennis player Novak Djokovic takes a break as he practices at Melbourne Park as questions remain over the legal battle regarding his visa to play in the Australian Open in January.
The furor over his Covid-19 vaccine status has led to the cancellation of Novak's visa once again.
After his visa was initially revoked, Novak Djokovic won a court battle to stay in the country. The Serbian national was held in an immigration facility last week after he arrived in Australia ahead of the Australian Open and was found to have been in violation of the country's strict entry rules.
The court ruling on Monday meant that the visa was still valid. The Australian government acted again.
The Immigration Minister of Australia said that he canceled the visa held by Novak Djokovic on the basis that it was in the public interest to do so.
Customs officials decided he didn't have enough medical justification for a vaccine exemption, so he had his passport taken away.
The vaccine exemption was argued to have been served by the tennis player's contraction of Covid-19, which he tested positive for on December 16.
There was controversy when photos of Novak Djokovic and several Serbian youth tennis players were published. Earlier this week, Djokovic apologized for a mistake on his Australian travel declaration, as well as breaking Covid isolation rules.
The tennis star was included in the draw for the Australian Open despite not knowing if he would play.
The visa issue was brought up in an Australian court on Friday night, with the lawyers for the player pushing for the issue to be resolved by Sunday so he can play on Monday. The court ordered him to be taken into custody on Saturday.
The Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia was told by Nicholas Wood that the decision was irrational.
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