In order to go to Australia in time for the Australian Open in January, Novak Djokovic must first find out if the federal government will overturn his three-year ban.
Serb’s fate is fully in the government’s hands, and the tournament has declared that they will not be fighting for his return. And Djokovic is totally aware of the first Major of 2023’s six-week entrance list date.
Djokovic hopes to participate in the 2023 Australian Open despite being barred from entering the nation until 2025. As a natural outcome of his deportation at the beginning of this year.
The decision about Djokovic’s suspension rests with Tennis Australia and Immigration Minister Andrew Giles. Director of the competition and CEO of Tennis Australia, Craig Tiley, also underlined that they will not press the government on the subject.
However, the nine-time champion Australian team will be hoping to hear back before December. All competitions, including the Australian Open, have registration list deadlines that fall six weeks prior to the start of competition.
‘He’s a nine-time champion,’ – Craig Tiley
If a law is passed against world No. 7 after this timeframe, he would have to leave the competition. “We’d like to welcome Novak back – he’s a nine-time champion,” Wednesday’s Australian Open introduction featured a statement from Tiley.
Tennis Australia stayed out of controversy after negotiating a medical waiver for Djokovic to enter the nation unvaccinated this year. Tiley stated that “ideally,” the government would decide before the admission list deadline.
He added:
“There’s an entry deadline in December for the Australian Open, so they’ll obviously have to meet that timeline.”
Despite months of rumors regarding Djokovic’s participation in the 2022 Australian Open, the situation will feel familiar to Tiley and Tennis Australia. As an unvaccinated player during the time of the country’s mandatory vaccination program.
The 21-time Major champion arrived in Melbourne in January after Tennis Australia received a medical exemption due to a Covid infection in December 2021. But after having his visa revoked, he got confined in a government quarantine hotel.
He was victorious in his appeal, but the immigration minister at the time again canceled his visa. But after losing his second appeal, he got deported on the day of the contest.
A new administration has now been elected, which is good news for Djokovic. Indicating that the individuals who deported him in January will not be responsible for making decisions on his three-year term. Tiley insisted, however, that Tennis Australia could not and would not lobby the government at this time.
“What we’re saying at this point is that Novak and the federal government need to work out the situation. And then we’ll follow any instruction after that,”
The event’s director stated.
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