Posted on 04/26/2022 7:05:45 PM PDT by nickcarraway
Serbia's Novak Djokovic holds the winners trophy as he poses for photographers after he defeated Italy's Matteo Berrettini in the men's singles final on day thirteen of the Wimbledon Tennis Championships in London, Sunday, July 11, 2021. Novak Djokovic will be allowed to defend his title at Wimbledon, despite not being vaccinated against COVID-19, because the shots are not required to enter Britain, All England Club chief executive Sally Bolton said Tuesday, April 26, 2022. Kirsty Wigglesworth/AP
Serbian tennis player Novak Djokovic will be allowed to defend his Wimbledon title despite being unvaccinated against COVID-19.
The All England Lawn Tennis Club, which organizes the event, clarified Tuesday it is encouraging athletes to get vaccinated but isn't compelling them to, allowing Djokovic to participate after previously being blocked from competing in another Grand Slam event in Australia.
"The requirement set out by the government to enter the U.K. does not include mandatory vaccination," All England Lawn Tennis Club Chief Executive Sally Bolton said Tuesday, per the BBC. "Therefore, while it is of course encouraged, it is not a condition of entry."
Wimbledon is one of the four Grand Slam tennis tournaments, alongside the Australian Open, the French Open, and the U.S. Open. The event is scheduled to take place from June 27 to July 10. Djokovic has won the tournament six times, including the most recent events in 2018, 2019, and 2021.
In January, Australia drew international outcry for revoking Djokovic's visa because he was unvaccinated, preventing him from competing in the Australian Open and defending his title there. Djokovic, 34, had won that tournament nine times and was one win away from the most major wins in men's tennis history.
Djokovic has since declared he was willing to miss out on other Grand Slam events over his refusal to receive the jab. He also skipped tournaments in Indian Wells, California, and Miami, Florida, due to U.S. rules at the time governing unvaccinated foreigners, ABC reported.
The next event on the docket is the French Open, starting on May 22, and the director said there is nothing stopping him from competing there. As for the U.S. Open, officials said they will follow whatever rules the government puts in place.
Djokovic recently drew attention for his criticism of the ban on Russian and Belarusian players from competing at Wimbledon. He condemned Russia's war in Ukraine, but he argued that when "politics interferes with sport, the result is not good."
In total, he has won 20 Grand Slam titles so far, tied with Roger Federer for the second most of all time. Rafael Nadal leads the duo after winning his 21st title at the most recent Australia Open.
As he should be.
P.S. It’s not a vaccination
And banning Russians from playing there is total BS.
I don’t think some 20 y/o girl that probably lives in Monte Carlo or Florida has anything to do with Putin’s war...
He has an unfair advantage over his competitors in that he is less likely to die during a match.
Not being vaccinated is a PED?
If your opponent dies of a sudden unexpected heart attack during a match, you win by default.
I wonder if Nadal will make it - he has that ‘rib’ problem.
I hope he doesn’t. He won the Australian Open due to Novak getting hosed. Hopefully Novak ties it at 21 without Nadal.
😂
🙀
Is he going to infect a damn tennis ball? What is the big deal?
So? If the shots are not required to enter England, what difference does it make. They were required in Austalia. And that made a difference in his entering the country, not playing the tournament. And he knowingly tried to get away with it so how honest is he?
wy69
He had been given a waiver which the Australians subsequently revoked. He was not dishonest, it was the Australians who didn't keep their word.
Djokovic is using his MasterCard for all purchases now since his visa was found not to be accepted in all countries.
Good.
“He had been given a waiver which the Australians subsequently revoked.”
He was given a waiver by the tournament organizers, not the Australian federal government who make the rules on who can come into the country. In that case, the organizers don’t mean anything as they are allowing him to play a tournament he isn’t supposed to be in the country to play.
So why didn’t he or his people talk to the people that make the decision as to whether he could enter the country and went to someone else that can’t make the decision? Djokovic is a vocal opponent of vaccine mandates and had declined to reveal his vaccination status or reason for seeking a medical exemption from Australia’s vaccination rules. So he tried to use other means because of his politics about the jabs with the tennis association rather than their federal govenment...and he was turned down entry when he arrived.
Clarifying Australia’s visa requirements, Minister for Immigration Alex Hawke said foreign players would need to have had two vaccination shots to play the Grand Slam at Melbourne Park in January. And this information was presented to him on October 21, almost three months prior to the tournament. And again, this was the federal government telling him this that make these decisions, not the tennis association.
“He had been given a waiver which the Australians subsequently revoked.”
The Tennis association didn’t revoke his waiver, the Australian feds denied his visa for improper entry. This guy travels all over the world to play. Is he that much of an idiot to accidently contact the wrong people especially when it matched his activism on the jabs. He even played in another tournament prior to the Australian and didn’t report it. So, is he that stupid or just dishonest?
wy69
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