Australian Open 2022: "You have to be double vaccinated," explains Australia's immigration minister
There will be no Australian Open for unvaccinated players in 2022. The Australian immigration minister Alex Hawke said on Wednesday morning.
by Florian Goosmann
last edit: Oct 20, 2021, 10:42 am
Lately there has been a lot of speculation about what the regulations for the Australian Open 2022 would look like - and in particular whether Novak Djokovic should be allowed to play. Now it seems clear: there will be no exceptions for unvaccinated tennis players; those who want to enter must show a double COVID-19 vaccination.
"The government set the boundaries and stated that you have to be double-vaccinated to enter Australia," Hawke said on ABC radio. This is reported by the Australian newspaper The Age . "That goes for everyone, not just tennis players. It means that every visitor to Australia must be double-vaccinated."
Hawke also specified the case of Novak Djokovic: He had recently stated in an interview that he did not want to disclose his vaccination status. "Not only in sport, but in the world in general, I am disappointed with the discord that exists between vaccinated and unvaccinated people. If we discriminate against someone because they want to decide for themselves whether they want to be vaccinated or not, I think so terrible ", the world number one had declared.
"Anyone who wants to visit Australia must be double vaccinated"
Hawke said, "I don't have a message for Novak. I have a message for anyone who wants to visit Australia. They need to be double vaccinated."
Roderick McRae, President of the Medical Association of the State of Victoria (where the Australian Open takes place), said that the fact that Djokovic was already sick with COVID-19 and may therefore be immunized does not change that. "I know he already had it. But (...) the immunity from the vaccination is better than that from the disease itself."
Dan Andrews, the Prime Minister of the state of Victoria, had already indicated on Tuesday that all Australian Open starters are required to be vaccinated: "I do not think that an unvaccinated player can get a visa for this country. The virus does not care where you are in the Are you in the world rankings or how many Grand Slams you have won. "
Which players will play the Australian Open 2022?
There were already indications that players would have to be vaccinated at some point. At the US Open it was often criticized that fans and employees had to prove at least one vaccination, but not players.
It should be exciting to see who will play the Australian Open in 2022. Because the double vaccination requirement does not only affect the nine-time champ in Melbourne, i.e. Novak Djokovic, but also the majority of tennis professionals: According to The Age , which refers to the official figures of the ATP and WTA, 35 percent of the men were not fully vaccinated by the beginning of last week, and 40 percent of women.