Australian Open 2023: Novak Djokovic looks set to play despite staying unvaccinated

Novak Djokovic was barred from playing Australia Open 2022 because he was non-vaccinated for COVID. However, he looks set to play next year as the vaccination laws in the country are likely to be modified.

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21-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic of Serbia created headlines this year when he got barred from competing in the 2023 Australian Open for being non-vaccinated for COVID. After undergoing a legal battle for nearly a week, he was deported and was handed a three-year ban from entering the country. As a result, he was barred from competing in tournaments across other parts of the world, including the ongoing US Open. However, it seems like he will be able to compete in Australia next year, with the vaccination laws in the nation being tipped to change.

As per The Herald Sun, following the Federal Election and a new government in power since May this year, Andrew Giles (Australia's new Immigration Minister) has reportedly chosen to overturn Djokovic's ban if the Serbian decides to appeal against it. After missing out on AO, Djokovic played the French Open and Wimbledon this year, winning the latter.

However, due to missing so many tournaments and Slams, he has lost his number one ranking and also fallen back in the race for most Slam titles behind Rafael Nadal (22) of Spain, being just a Slam behind. Earlier, the record holder Spaniard had also admitted that a tournament loses its charm if top players do not participate.

"In some way, we know that Novak will not play for a while if nothing changes regarding the rules, no? We knew this months ago. From my perspective, it is unfortunate news. It's always a shame when the best players of the world cannot play a tournament because of injuries or for different reasons," said Nadal after Djokovic's withdrawal from the US Open.

"In this case, not having one of the best players in history in the draw of a Grand Slam is always an important miss, no? As I said, tough for the fans, tough for the tournament. In my opinion, tough for the players, too, because we want to have the best field possible. But, on the other hand, I repeat what I said plenty of times: the sport in some ways is bigger than any player," Nadal concluded.