Novak Djokovic's wife shuts down journalist for 'anti-vax poster boy' Tweet: 'He simply..'

21-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic’s wife Jelena Djokovic on Monday lashed out at a journalist on social media, who referred the Serbian tennis great as a 'poster boy' for people against COVID-19 vaccination. Novak Djokovic picked up his record-breaking 21st Grand Slam title after winning the recently concluded Wimbledon Championships 2022 trophy. He earlier missed the season-opening Australian Open this year due to the mandatory vaccination rules in the country, while he crashed out of the French Open, after losing to Rafael Nadal in the quarter-finals. 

Having recently picked up his seventh Wimbledon title, Djokovic’s participation in the fourth Grand Slam event of the year, i.e. the US Open 2022 is under concern, because he remains to be unvaccinated to date. Meanwhile, tennis journalist Ben Rothenberg recently took to his Twitter handle and revealed his thoughts about Djokovic’s chances of playing in the US Open. At the same time, the journalist also labelled Djokovic as an ‘anti-vax posterboy’ in his comments much to the fury of Djokovic’s wife Jelena. 

Jelena wrote, “Excuse me. Just making sure that it is noted that YOU tagged him as antivax poster boy for whatever reason you have. He simply responded what HIS body choice is”. Meanwhile, Rothenberg had earlier tweeted, “Unless there is a swift change in US immigration law, #Wimbledon US requires vaccination for foreigners to enter, and Djokovic has firmly said he has ruled out getting vaccinated, entrenching himself as an anti-vax posterboy” (sic). 

Journalist responds, Jelena hits back again: '...fits your agenda'

On noticing Jelena’s reply, the journalist responded by saying that her husband is a huge icon for the anti-COVID vaccination movement. “I understand that it's his choice, but I also am saying that his decision to be so firmly against the vaccines that it limits his ability to play tournaments has made him, unwittingly or not, into a huge icon of the anti-vax movement. I saw this very clearly during Australia,” Rothenberg added. 

Jelena puts out another reply saying that the journalist created a judgemental narrative to fit his agenda, before adding that if Djokovic is not playing because of his vaccination status, he is fine with it. While Rothenberg explained that Djokovic has a 'duty to act responsibly with public health actions', Jelena replied saying that the journalist should be careful as he might become the poster boy for hatred and bullying. 

Know how the Internet reacted to Jelena Djokovic lashing out at the journalist

(Image: AP)