Nine-time Australian Open champion Novak Djokovic will be deported after losing appeal
Photo by Loren Elliott/Reuters
SYDNEY (Reuters) – An Australian court upheld a government decision to cancel Novak Djokovic’s visa on Sunday, ending the unvaccinated tennis superstar’s hopes of winning a 10th Australian Open and racking up a record-breaking 21st Grand Slam singles title.
Ruling on a case that has gripped Australia and the sporting world for more than a week, a three-judge bench of the Federal Court heard government lawyers arguments that the continued presence of Djokovic risked whipping up anti-vaccination sentiment during Australia’s worst outbreak of COVID-19 since the pandemic began.
A medical exemption that allowed the Serbian tennis world number one to enter the country without being vaccinated had sparked fury in Australia, and became a political issue for Prime Minister Scott Morrison, who has to call a federal election before May.
(Reporting by Renju Jose; Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore)