Famous Tennis player, Novak Djokovic will not be permitted to participate in the US Open due to his refusal to take the Covid-19 vaccine.
Organizers of the tournament have said the government’s rules on non-citizens being fully vaccinated in order to enter the country would be respected, ruling out Djokovic.
Djokovic was deported from Australia before the Open in Melbourne over his refusal to take the vaccine in January 2022.
After the drama, Djokovic revealed that he would not get the jab just to take part in tournaments.
In February, Djokovic told the BBC that he had vaccines as a child, as such, he was not ‘against vaccinations.’
While talking further, he said: “I’ve always supported the freedom to choose what you put in your body.”
Djokovic hopes to compete in Flushing Meadows next month but he will not risk a repeat of the deportation saga he went through in Australia.
When asked about playing at the US Open, Djokovic said: “I’m not going to go to America if I don’t have permission, the Australian saga for me was not pleasant at all.
“People still think I forced my way to Australia and tried to come in with no papers, permission or exemption – it is not true.
“That was proven in the court cases, so I would never go into a country where I didn’t have permission to travel.
“I would love to come back to Australia. I love Australia, I had my best Grand Slam results in that country.
“Hopefully I can be there in January because I want to be there, and I also want to be in New York.
“I want to be in America and everywhere I can possibly play.”
After he won at Wimbledon, Djokovic said he was on ‘vacation.’
He added: “Whether or not I’m playing any tournament soon, I’ll definitely be resting for the next couple of weeks because it has been quite an exhausting and demanding period for me the last few months.”
According to CNN, no fewer than 17,000 have signed a Change.org petition requesting for the USTA and leaders in Washington to allow Novak Djokovic to participate.
The petition states: “There is absolutely no reason at this stage of the pandemic to not allow Djokovic to play at the US Open 2022. US Government and USTA must work together to allow him to play. If unvaccinated American players can play, Djokovic as one of the legends of the game must be allowed to play. MAKE IT HAPPEN, USTA!”
A statement from the US Open read: “Per the Grand Slam Rule Book, all eligible players are automatically entered into the men’s and women’s singles main draw fields based on ranking 42 days prior to the first Monday of the event.
“The US Open does not have a vaccination mandate in place for players, but it will respect the US government’s position regarding travel into the country for unvaccinated non-US citizens.”
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