Australian Open 2022: Novak Djokovic says 'going to decide' whether he'll go to Australia

Novak Djokovic's Australian Open 2022 title defence hangs in the balance, with the player himself waiting to see the rules set on travel and entry requirements before deciding on travelling to Melbourne. Prime Minister Scott Morrison had indicated that unvaccinated tennis players would be allowed to play Australian Open if they undergo two weeks in hotel quarantine. However, Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews continues to stand against unvaccinated tennis players. Novak Djokovic, who tested positive for COVID-19 last year, has yet to reveal his vaccination status.

Novak Djokovic shares details on his travel to Australia 

Novak Djokovic is currently in Paris and will participate in Paris Master, his first tournament post US Open loss, as he prepares for year-ender finals. While speaking to the press in Paris, Novak Djokovic was asked about the chances of him playing at Australian Open 2022, to which he said, "Well, I'm going to decide on whether I go to Australia or not after I see the official statement from Tennis Australia. Right now, we don't have any official announcement or statement. So until that's out, I won't be talking about this anymore, because I don't want to be part of the stories about the assumptions and what-ifs.

He further said, "When official condition requirements to travel to Australia and play in Australia are out, then obviously I'll see what I personally do with that, and also the bigger group of the players, you know because the situation is obviously different in Australia than most parts of the world."

Tennis Australia's stance on unvaccinated players 

Recently a leaked email from WTA to its Players’ Council Tennis stated that unvaccinated players would likely be granted a visa but must do two weeks in isolation in a quarantined hotel, while fully vaccinated players will be allowed to skip quarantine. The mail also mentioned Tennis Australia working with the government on the details but because Victoria state was expected to hit a vaccination target of 90 per cent of the adult population by next month, it has been confirmed that conditions for the players at the Australian Open will improve significantly. It said that the players were expected to be allowed to start arriving in Australia from December 1. Victoria state Sports Minister Martin Pakula told Melbourne radio station 3AW the decision would be made “in plenty of time for all of the players to know what the requirements are and for those who aren’t vaccinated to get vaccinated.”

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