Wimbledon held its annual spring news conference on Tuesday and it was confirmed that world number one Novak Djokovic and others who have not been vaccinated will be allowed to compete at the All England Club this year.
Wimbledon confirms that COVID19 vaccination will not be required for players to compete this year. There will be no covid restrictions this year. — Mike Dickson (@Mike_Dickson_DM) April 26, 2022 20-time Grand Slam champion Djokovic will return to the Grand Slam scene after the Australian visa saga.
In Australia, Djokovic was denied the chance to compete for his 21st Grand Slam title after Australian authorities revoked his visa to deport him from the country.
Last month, France lifted its vaccination mandate, opening the doors for Djokovic to play at Roland Garros. After Roland-Garros, Djokovic can focus on the grass-court season and win a fourth consecutive Wimbledon title.
Djokovic, who won his first Wimbledon title in 2011, has also won the championships in 2014, 2015, 2018, 2019, 2021 and 2022. Djokovic has won the last three editions of Wimbledon because the championships were not held in 2020.
Novak Djokovic does not support the Wimbledon ban decision. Djokovic is certainly happy to compete at Wimbledon, but he has made it clear that he does not support the decision to bar Russian and Belarusian players from competing at the All England Club.
“I don’t support that, I grew up with sanctions, I know what it feels like when the world sees you differently, because a bad image has been created,” Djokovic said.
“I was a victim of that, like many Serbs. I am a child of war, I know what it is to lose loved ones, some still suffer from all this. I will be against it forever.”
“Politics exists in sport, you have political structures in the organization. I am talking about higher instances of political interference. I stand by what I said. There is no need to suspend an athlete, not just a tennis player.
I don’t see how they affect the war. We have a rule in tennis about the prohibition of discrimination, which speaks of the rule of no classification nationality. Wimbledon violated that, the ATP ruled.” Whether Djokovic can claim his seventh Wimbledon title this year remains to be seen.
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