Djokovic lost out on the opportunity to win the AO 2022 with the Grand Slam title going to Rafael Nadal. Source: Shutterstock.
The decision on whether to allow tennis superstar Novak Djokovic into Australia will ultimately be made by the government, with some in favour and others opposed.
Tennis Australia CEO Craig Tiley said that everything is on track for next year’s Australian Open (AO), with hopes Djokovic could make a return.
“We are at a different point in time now than we were nine months ago and I think it’s a very different environment with people travelling freely around the world… we hope to have all the best players here in January”.
Djokovic was deported just days before the AO 2022 over his COVID-19 vaccination status and was banned from re-entering Australia for three years.
It’s unknown what the stance of the government is at the moment but laws were amended in July that now allow unvaccinated visa-holders to enter Australia without an exemption, possibly leading to an overruling of the previous ban.
Djokovic has previously spoken of his chances of returning down under now that there’s a new government.
“I don’t know anything about whether my visa is going to be reinstated or whether I’m going to be allowed to come back to Australia,” he said.
“I would love to come back to Australia. I love Australia, I had my best Grand Slam results in that country.”
Despite this, some are against his return including Shadow Home Affairs Minister Karen Andrews.
“It would be a slap in the face for those people in Australia who did the right thing… if all of a sudden, Novak Djokovic is allowed back into the country, simply because he is a high-ranking tennis player with many millions of dollars,” she told ABC Radio Melbourne.
“I don’t think there is any reason it should be overturned because someone has a lot of money.
“It shouldn’t be one rule for Novak Djokovic and a different rule for everybody else.”
Victorian Premier Dan Andrews said that he would support the decision, whatever the outcome.
“Who gets into the country and whatever rules and different processes they have to go through is a matter for the Commonwealth government.”
