After not being able to defend his title in Australian Open 2021, Novak Djokovic could be barred from playing in the French Open as Sports Ministry said on Monday (January 17) that there would be no exemption for the Serbian from France's new vaccine law.
World no.1 Djokovic, who has not been vaccinated against Covid-19, was deported from Australia before the first Grand Slam tournament of the year after losing a court case to have the cancellation of his visa overturned.
France’s sports ministry said athletes visiting the country to compete will not be exempted from the country’s vaccine requirements. The regulations are set to come into effect in the coming days and will require people over the age of 16 to be vaccinated against Covid-19 in order to enter public venues like sports stadiums, bars and restaurants.
"The rule is simple. The vaccine pass will be imposed, as soon as the law is promulgated, in establishments that were already subject to the health pass," the ministry said.
“This will apply to everyone who is a spectator or a professional sportsperson. And this until further notice.”
"Now, as far as Roland Garros is concerned, it's in May. The situation may change between now and then and we hope that it will be more favourable. So we'll see, but clearly there's no exemption," the ministry added.
Sports minister Roxana Maracineanu said that the visiting athletes would not be exempted from the new rules, backtracking from previous statements where she said visiting athletes could be exempted under a “bubble” system.
This could mean that Djokovic could miss two consecutive Grand Slam tournaments over his refusal to get vaccinated against Covid-19.
