This might just be the first round of a (very) long fight. This Friday, unable to present a certificate of vaccination against Covid-19, Novak Djokovic saw his Australian visa canceled for the second time. While waiting for the end of this saga which has held the media around the world in suspense for ten days, the question of the aftermath is already starting to arise: is the Australian scenario likely to recur? Will the best tennis player in the world be able to defend his rank in major tournaments around the world while remaining unvaccinated? Will he one day have the opportunity to win a 21st Grand Slam title and thus overtake Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, with whom he shares the victory record so far?
Wimbledon and Roland-Garros, difficult but not impossible
At Roland Garros, the first Grand Slam tournament of the year after that of Australia, Djokovic’s horizon seems rather clear on paper. Asked about the case of the Serbian player, the French Minister of Sports, Roxana Maracineanu, assured that a sportsman “Who will not be vaccinated […] will be able to participate in the competition because the protocol, the health bubble of these major sporting events will allow it “.
The future vaccination pass, still examined in Parliament and which should be required for “Any athlete who trains in France, whether French or foreign, if he is domiciled in our territory”, would therefore not apply to Djokovic and professional athletes, according to the minister’s explanations.
For Wimbledon, the situation is already complicated for the world number 1. The London turf tournament, which takes place between late June and early July, is not one of the sporting events benefiting from exemptions. If he wants to participate, Djokovic would not escape quarantine according to current British health constraints.
In detail, he should isolate himself for ten days on his arrival in England. Then test yourself for the first time in the two days before traveling, a second at the latest on the second day after arrival, and a third at the earliest on the eighth day. Any positive test would extend the quarantine by 10 days from the date of the positive result.
For the US Open, mass is said
But except for relaxation of the rules, it is for the US Open that the deal promises to be the most complex for the world number 1. Like Australia, the American authorities are refusing for the moment any entry into their territory to non-vaccinated foreigners. And exemptions from this vaccination requirement are rare.
Are part of it “Documented medical contraindication to receiving a vaccine against Covid-19” or the “Participation in certain clinical trials on Covid-19”, according to the US Federal Public Health Agency. But not a recent infection, the reason for exemption on which Novak Djokovic relied to enter Australia. To these restrictions, we must add the health rules specific to New York City which prevent, for example, basketball player Kyrie Irving from playing home matches for the Brooklyn Nets because he is not vaccinated. The same should be true for the Serbian tennis player.
Doubles specialist Pierre-Hugues Herbert, unvaccinated and who has given up on the Australian Open, expects not to be able to participate in the US Open either. “The United States is the whole month of March and a whole summer tour with the US Open. Almost half of the season in total, which is not trivial. The next step is to potentially stop playing tennis ”, lamented the French player in an interview with The team. Because beyond the US Open, three of the nine Masters 1000 on the ATP calendar (the biggest tournaments apart from those of the Grand Slam), Indian Wells and Miami in the spring, and Cincinnati are played in the United States in particular. in summer. It’s paid dearly for the refused injection.
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