“Any exceptions will have to follow strict government regulations,” they said. The message, issued by the Australian authorities, was directed towards Novak Djokovic, presumably not vaccinated, towards the end of last month. At that time there was strong speculation about whether tennis players who did not have the complete inoculation scheme could (or not) participate in the next Australian Open 2022. The rule that came down from the government of the oceanic country was clear. Or at least it seemed, because finally, Nole He will be at the ATP Cup in Sydney in January, which suggests that he would also compete in the Open. So … did the problems go away? Well no. This time, vaccination and the coronavirus appear as an impediment to Natalia Vikhlyantseva, the current 194th in the WTA ranking, who will not be able to play the first Grand Slam of the calendar despite having received a double dose. The reason? She was vaccinated with Sputnik-V, to date not approved by the TGA (Therapeutic Good Administration) of that country.
“Unfortunately I will not participate this year in Australia. I was very happy with the tennis level of the last tournaments and wanted to play, but the Sputnik vaccine was not yet verified. Good luck to all the participants and to the Australian Open team, who always organize a fantastic tournament ”, The 24-year-old tennis player lamented on her Twitter account. Vikhlyantseva, who became number 54 in the ranking in 2017. She finally revealed on social media that she will not travel to Melbourne due to her vaccination status.
Players, staff and spectators must be fully vaccinated to attend the beginning of the year tournament, unless they receive a rare medical exemption that is discussed in a multi-step review process.
This is the first time that international tennis stars have faced a vaccination mandate to compete, a requirement that includes not only the Grand Slam starting on January 17, but also the previous tournaments to be played in Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide. Tennis Australia and Australian Open tournament executive director Craig Tiley said the requirement resulted in player vaccination rates will increase from around 50 percent to over 95 percent. World No. 1 Novak Djokovic is signed up, but has yet to confirm whether he will play in the Melbourne tournament and has spoken that he prefers to have the “freedom to choose” what he puts on his body.
The Australian government considers an international traveler to be fully vaccinated if they have completed a course in a TGA approved or recognized vaccine. These are those of AstraZeneca Vaxzevria, AstraZeneca Covishield, Pfizer / Biontech Comirnaty, Moderna, Sinovac, Bharat Biotech Covaxin, Sinopharm y Johnson & Johnson.
“Everybody is looking forward to attending the Australian Open. And everyone who takes part, spectators, players, managers, technical teams, must be fully vaccinated, “said James Merlino, the deputy prime minister of the state of Victoria, of which Melbourne, the host city of the Grand Slam, is the capital. Vikhlyantseva was vaccinated but was adversely affected by an administrative impediment.
