Novak Djokovic will compete at Australian Open

BREAKING: Nine-time champion and world number one Novak Djokovic says he will defend his Australian Open title later this month after receiving a medical exemption from having a Covid-19 vaccination.

All players and staff at the tournament must be vaccinated or have an exemption granted by an expert independent panel.

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Djokovic, a nine-time Australian Open winner, has not spoken publicly about his vaccination status.

The tournament begins in Melbourne on 17 January.

“I’ve spent fantastic quality time with my loved ones over the break and today I’m heading down under with an exemption permission,” he said on Instagram on Tuesday. “Let’s go 2022.”

Yesterday Australian Open chief Craig Tiley has revealed unvaccinated players have been granted exemptions to play in the Australian Open.

“Every athlete coming into Australia has to be vaccinated and show proof of that, or has to have made application from a medical exemption,” Tiley explained. “In the case of tennis players, that’s far more rigorous than anyone coming into Australia applying for a medical exemption,”.

“There are two medical panels that assess any application, and they assess it in a blind way. They don’t know who the applicant is.

“Against the guidelines, an exemption gets granted or not. The reason for granting the exemption remains private, between the panel and the applicant.

“We know of athletes that have applied for an exemption and in cases, it’s been granted.

“Some of those (players) have indicated that they’re here, but that’s up to the athlete, to disclose and [decide] whether they want to share that information.”

All spectators attending the Australian Open will also have to show proof of being fully vaccinated before being allowed into the grounds.

More to follow.

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