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Novak Djokovic’s 2022 Australian Open controversy, explained

Welcome to FTW Explains, a guide to catching up on and better understanding stuff going on in the world. You may have seen a lot of news lately about Novak Djokovic and the 2022 Australian Open and wondered: What’s going on there? We’re here to help.

The first tennis Grand Slam of the year is coming in two weeks, with the 2022 Australian Open beginning on Jan. 17.

Novak Djokovic — who has won the tournament nine times including the last three Aussie Opens — appeared to be a part of it … but now it looks like that may not happen.

What’s the deal and the controversy? Let’s break it down:

What's the big deal about Djokovic playing in Australia?

On January 4, Djokovic tweet a photo of him heading to Australia and mentioned he was going “with an exemption permission” to play.

An exemption?

Yes. Specifically, it was a medical exemption from getting the COVID-19 vaccination.

Is he not vaccinated?

He refuses to reveal if he’s received it.

However: Back in April of 2020, he had this to say (via USA TODAY Sports):

“Personally, I am opposed to vaccination,” Djokovic said on a Facebook Live chat Sunday alongside fellow Serbian athletes. The 17-time Grand Slam winner said he’s been against vaccinations long before COVID-19.

“I wouldn’t want to be forced by someone to take a vaccine in order to be able to travel,” Djokovic said. “If it becomes compulsory, what will happen? I will have to make a decision. I have my own thoughts about the matter, and whether those thoughts will change at some point, I don’t know.”

Back in November of 2021, Tennis Australia CEO Craig Tiley confirmed everyone playing would need to be fully vaccinated:

“Everyone on site, the fans, all the staff, the players, will need to be vaccinated,” Tiley said at the tournament’s official launch. “There’s been a lot of speculation about Novak’s position, he’s said it’s a private matter.

So how did he get an exemption if that's the case?

That’s a little unclear, although — via ESPN — is this statement from Open organizers:

“Djokovic applied for a medical exemption which was granted following a rigorous review process involving two separate independent panels of medical experts,” the statement said.

“One of those was the Independent Medical Exemption Review Panel appointed by the Victorian Department of Health. They assessed all applications to see if they met the Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation guidelines.”

Tennis Australia said the process included the redaction of personal information to ensure privacy for all applicants. That means Djokovic was not obliged to make his exemption public.

Australian Open tournament director Craig Tiley said “fair and independent protocols were established for assessing medical exemption applications that will enable us to ensure Australian Open 2022 is safe and enjoyable for everyone.”

 

I can't imagine people were happy about that.

They were not. Australian legislators and others expressed their fury on Twitter:

What happened next?

There were these tweets:

And that was coupled with news from The Times that due to a visa application mix-up, he wasn’t allowed to enter the country. Apparently, the visa he applied for doesn’t allow for medical exemptions if you’re unvaccinated. Those tweets above hammer home the point.

 

So now what?

It feels like the Australian government is stepping in to overrule the Open organizers and those who granted the exception to Djokovic. Will any of that change in the coming days? We’ll see.

UPDATE: According to multiple reports, including The Age‘s Paul Sakkal, Djokovic’s visa has been canceled, and he’s appealing.

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