A few days before the first major tournament of the year, the petticoat of the tennis associations is drastically exceeding while Novak Djokovic, at the time of this writing, is still the first seed of the Australian Open.
Why is this problematic? Because Djokovic, nine-time champion in Australia, is not vaccinated against COVID-19 and he will not be vaccinated against COVID-19.
This is, according to the health regulations in force in Australia, against national policies. Djokovic is also in the middle of a legal fight in order not to be expelled from the country. So far he is still there, but Immigration Minister Alex Hawke could decide to point the door at him at any time if he judges that Djoko’s personal choices endanger the common well-being of Australians. .
Lack of seriousness
Let me say this, if Naomi Osaka, or Serena Williams acted in the way Novak Djokovic has acted in the past couple weeks- the tennis association would be sharpening their knives. They hung Osaka out to dry because she missed a couple pressers, meanwhile on Djokovic…(crickets).
— Francis Maxwell (@francismmaxwell) January 13, 2022
If this were just a legal battle, we might just pass the sponge. But tennis associations and major tournament organizations have precedents with athletes failing to comply and, as recently as last year, displayed very inflexible intransigence towards Naomi Osaka. .
To summarize, Osaka did not want to comply with the compulsory press briefings at Roland Garros and the organization had fined him $ 15,000 in addition to letting the threat of even more severe sanctions hover up to expulsion. of the tournament if she did it again.
This all led to Osaka’s withdrawal from the tournament as she stepped away from tennis to think it over.
Less than a year later, as Djokovic takes on the Australian government, the organization of the tournament does nothing. No sanctions, no repercussions. A simple postponement of the draw and then everything is fine.
But why?
Djokovic’s case is an obvious hot potato this year and a real time bomb. The organization’s approach here is to wait for the Australian government to make the ungrateful decision to deport him for them. Why? This is the end that escapes me.
The guillotine was sharp for Naomi Osaka for something that didn’t affect the health of spectators and other players.
Djokovic, he is obviously above all that and he acts like someone above all that.
It is deplorable.
Novak Djokovic “played by his own rules” by choosing not to be vaccinated before the Australian Open and “made the majority of players look like idiots,” Stefanos Tsitsipas said in an interview with Indian media WION #AFP #AFPSports pic.twitter.com/IPXyiTaiG1
– Agence France-Presse (@afpfr) January 13, 2022
If the organization was a consistent minimum, Djokovic would be removed from the table this year BEFORE the Australian government enforces a sanction. That would be the least of things after the odious treatment Osaka received last spring.
But let’s bet that won’t happen, because …
