Djokovic, Who Remains Unvaccinated, Says He Will Miss U.S. Open

At the time, Djokovic was following the rules that tournament organizers had provided, rules that had supposedly been approved by state and federal governmental authorities. However, by the time his plane landed, the controversy had exploded on social media and reached the highest levels of the Australian government.

Immigration officials detained him at the airport and sequestered him in a hotel for immigrants seeking political asylum. After a twist-filled ordeal, Djokovic ultimately left the country without defending his singles title from 2021. It ended with a ruling by a three-judge panel that affirmed the Australian government’s decision to cancel Djokovic’s visa, siding with the administration of Scott Morrison, the prime minister at the time, which said Djokovic’s celebrity threatened the country’s efforts to vaccinate its citizenry.

Because under Australian law any person whose visa has been canceled cannot return for three years, Djokovic will need a special exemption to get into the country for next year’s Open.

After the debacle in Australia, Djokovic spent several weeks away from the game, then resumed playing where he could.

“I was not feeling great generally,” he said of that time earlier this summer. “Mentally, emotionally, I was not at a good place. I wanted to play, but at the same time when I went out on the court in Dubai, was the first tournament of the year, I just felt so much pressure and emotions happening. I wasn’t feeling myself on the court. I realized at that point that it’s going to take some time, that I have to be patient, and sooner or later I will get myself in the state, optimal state, where I would like to be.”

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/25/sports/tennis/novak-djokovic-us-open-coronavirus.html