The top-ranked Djokovic wrote on Instagram on Tuesday he has
“an exemption permission” to travel to Australia.
Djokovic, who is seeking a record 21st Grand Slam singles
title, has continually refused to reveal if he is vaccinated against the coronavirus.
The Victoria state government has mandated that all players, staff and fans
attending the Australian Open must be fully vaccinated unless there is a
genuine reason why an exemption should be granted.
Australian Open organizers issued a statement later Tuesday
to confirm Djokovic will be allowed to compete at the tournament, which starts
on Jan. 17, and is on his way to Australia. He earlier withdrew from Serbia’s
team for the ATP Cup, which started last weekend in Sydney.
“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, meaning 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.”
“Central to this process was that the decisions were made by
independent medical experts and that every applicant was given due
consideration,” Tiley said.
Victoria state Deputy Premier James Merlino last month said medical
exemptions were “not a loophole for privileged tennis players.”
“It is a medical exemption in exceptional circumstances if
you have an acute medical condition,” Merlino said at a news conference.
The decision announced Tuesday will be widely debated in a
city which endured months of strict lockdowns and harsh travel restrictions at
the height of the pandemic.
Reaction on social media quickly turned to questions about
the grounds for Djokovic’s medical exemption, and what quarantine conditions he
will have to meet on arrival in Australia.
Last year, all foreign players had to spend two weeks in
hotel quarantine before the Australian Open, pushing the year’s first major
back from its usual mid-January start. There were also strict caps on crowd
numbers, and several days when fans weren’t allowed into Melbourne Park when
coronavirus cases surged.
The 34-year-old Djokovic has won nine of his 20 major titles
at the Australian Open. He shares the men’s record for most majors with Roger
Federer and Rafael Nadal. -AP