However, a member of his team made the visa application wrong, without taking into account said exemption for not vaccinated, and the tennis player was isolated waiting for the authorities to make a decision on whether to let him enter the country or not.
According to Australian media, the Government has rejected the Serbian’s visa and has asked him to leave the country this Thursday, although Djokovic’s lawyers are going to appeal the decision, with the intention that he can stay and play the tournament in which he is pursuing the record of 21 Grand Slams with which he would surpass Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal.
In addition to the errors in his visa, the Government of Victoria, the state where the tournament is held, had questioned the medical reasons put forward by the tennis player to receive the medical exemption and not be vaccinated.
The medical cause exposed by the tennis player was having been infected with covid in the six months prior to the tournament, which the Australian authorities have not considered sufficient reason for his entry into the country.
Did not meet the requirements to enter the country
The Australian border forces published a statement in which they indicated that Djokovic “did not comply with the requirements to enter the country”, therefore his visa “has been canceled”.
“We will continue to make sure that those who come to our borders comply with our laws. Citizens who do not have a valid visa or it has been canceled will be detained and expelled from Australia“they added.
This will be the first time that Djokovic, a nine-time winner of the tournament, will miss the Australian Open since his debut in 2005. It is also the first Grand Slam he has not attended since the US Open in 2017.