Australian Open 2022 - Unvaccinated players could be allowed to compete in Melbourne, according to leaked email
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Published 25/10/2021 at 08:41 GMT
An email to WTA players appeared to contradict previous statements from officials which have suggested that only fully vaccinated players would be allowed to compete. Victoria recently introduced a mandate for all professional athletes requiring them to be vaccinated, but under certain conditions, including a 14-day quarantine, this may be lifted.
Novak Djokovic of Serbia poses with the Norman Brookes Challenge Cup after winning the 2021 Australian Open Men's Final, at Brighton Beach on February 22, 2021 in Melbourne, Australia.
Image credit: Getty Images
Unvaccinated players could yet be allowed to compete at the 2022 Australian Open.
Previous statements from officials in Melbourne have suggested that only vaccinated tennis stars will be allowed to enter Victoria, which mandates vaccination for all professional athletes.
However according to a message sent to WTA Tour players, those who have not been vaccinated or do not disclose their status could yet be allowed to compete.
The leaked email suggests that unvaccinated players would have to quarantine for 14 days and produce a negative test result within 72 hours of departing for Australia.
Defending men's singles champion Novak Djokovic is the most prominent star to have not disclosed his vaccination status, with the Serbian having previously expressed anti-vaccination sentiments even before the emergence of vaccines for Covid-19.
US Open champion Daniil Medvedev, Stefanos Tsitsipas and Alexander Zverev have also spoken of scepticism about vaccination.
Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews said last week that he did not think unvaccinated players would get a visa to enter Australia.
However the state's minister for Sports and Major Events, Martin Pakula, said that plans are not yet finalised.
“We are still resolving with Tennis Australia and the Commonwealth whether unvaccinated foreign nationals will be allowed into Australia at all, and if so, under what circumstances they will be allowed,” Pakula told 3AW radio, according to news.com.au.
“Unvaccinated, we are still talking to the Commonwealth about whether the rule for international unvaccinated arrivals is either 14 days quarantine, or they are not coming into the country at all. We don’t expect that to be settled for another couple of weeks.
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“In the end, it’s a federal decision about who gets into the country and the circumstances in which they get in. We are still having that conversation with them. And we’re obviously talking to Tennis Australia who is also talking to the Commonwealth.
“We’ll get all that sorted in plenty of time for every player on the tour to be very clear about what the rules will be. The one thing that we have assured them all, is that the vaccinated players will be treated the same way as any other vaccinated entrant to the country.”
The Australian Open is due to start on January 17 as the first Grand Slam of 2022.
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