Novak Djokovic steps out with wife Jelena at Dubai’s Expo 2020 ahead of a tournament he CAN play in days after insisting he would sacrifice more Grand Slams to maintain his non-vaccination status
- Novak Djokovic is in Dubai to play in the Duty Free Tennis Championships
- The unvaccinated Serbian tennis star was deported from Australia last month
- But the government of Dubai does not require visitors to be vaccinated to enter
- Djokovic this week doubled down on his decision to stay unvaccinated this week
Novak Djokovic has visited the Expo 2020 world fair in Dubai with his wife Jelena ahead of a tennis tournament the unvaccinated tennis star can play in.
Djokovic visited the city ahead of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships, a tournament which he will be able to compete in as the United Arab Emirates does not require visitors to be vaccinated.
The tournament will be the first he has competed in since his visa cancellation and deportation from Australia last month, which saw him unable to play in the Grand Slam tournament in Melbourne.
Djokovic’s appearance at the Expo 2020 world fair with Jelena comes just days after the tennis star revealed he will refuse to play at future Grand Slams if it means he has to take a Covid vaccine.
‘I’m excited to go out on the tennis court next Monday,’ he said when asked how he feels after the recent twists and turns of the legal dispute over his travel visa. ‘I miss tennis honestly after everything that has happened.’
Novak Djokovic has visited the Expo 2020 world fair in Dubai with his wife Jelena ahead of a tennis tournament the unvaccinated tennis star can play in
Djokovic posed for selfies with adoring fans and set off on a guided tour of Serbia’s national pavilion at Expo 2020 days before he was due to hit the courts. His wife Jelena (right) gave a presentation at the pavilion
Novak Djokovic (C) is pictured during a visit to the Serbian pavilion at the Expo 2020 in Dubai
Djokovic (centre) is in Dubai for the Duty Free Tennis Championships
Djokovic this week doubled down on his decision to stay unvaccinated. The No. 1-ranked tennis player said he would skip the French Open, Wimbledon and other tournaments if he was required to get a coronavirus vaccine to compete, saying: ‘That is the price I am willing to pay.’
The government of Dubai does not require visitors to be vaccinated to enter. The men’s tennis tour event begins next week.
As he ambled into the pavilion Thursday surrounded by a sea of journalists, fans clapped and chanted ‘Nole,’ his nickname.
Djokovic posed for selfies with adoring fans and set off on a guided tour of Serbia’s national pavilion at Expo 2020 days before he was due to hit the courts.
The pavilion was hosting an event for his foundation, the Novak Djokovic Foundation, which promotes early childhood education in Serbia.
Djokovic this week doubled down on his decision to stay unvaccinated, even if it means giving up tournaments
Djokovic had a tour of Serbia’s national pavilion at Expo 2020 before he returns to action
The No 1-ranked tennis player said he would skip the French Open and Wimbledon if he had to
‘I’m proud to be on this stage,’ Djokovic said after his wife Jelena gave a presentation about the foundation’s work with children.
He said it was often hard to be involved as much as he wanted to be with the foundation given his whirlwind tournament schedule.
But he quickly acknowledged: ‘It’s not as busy as it used to be.’ The audience burst into applause.
Wearing a crisp white shirt and black mask emblazoned with his foundation’s logo, Djokovic gave high fives to toddlers and nodded encouragingly as he heard about Serbia’s start-up scene at the pavilion’s multimedia exhibit.
Djokovic became the world’s most prominent vaccine sceptic in January when Australia kicked him out of the country and refused to let him compete in the tournament in a U-turn, after he was initially let into the country with a medical exemption from having to provide proof of vaccination.
Now, he faces a similar situation ahead of the French Open in May, with the country’s health minister last month saying athletes must be vaccinated or recently recovered from Covid in order to participate in competitions.
Christophe Castaner, head of French president Emmanuel Macron’s LREM ruling party group, said the prospect of an unvaccinated Djokovic defending his title was ‘out of the question’.
Wimbledon has also provided no guarantee that Djokovic will be able to play at this summer’s Grand Slam in South West London, despite there being no UK government rules on athletes requiring vaccines.
Djokovic’s rival Rafael Nadal went on to win the tournament Down Under, taking his Grand Slam tally to 21, one more than the Serbian’s haul of 20. Earlier this month, it was reported that the 34-year-old was considering taking the jab to eclipse the Spaniard’s total.
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