Djokovic in controversy of being unmasked after tested COVID positive

Novak Djokovic's lawyers filed court papers on Friday to the federal court of Australia that show the world’s no. 1 ranking male tennis player had been tested positive for COVID-19 on Dec. 16 (local time) and recovered, thus being exempted from vaccination rules.

Djokovic, who is aiming to win the Australian Open men’s single titles for the fourth consecutive time, arrived on Wednesday in Australia to compete in the tennis tournament, but was denied entry into the country because he did not have vaccination records. Djokovic said that he had been approved for exemption to vaccination from the Australian Open Commission, but the Australian Immigration Office revoked his visa, saying that he failed to provide appropriate evidence to meet entry requirements.

Foreign visitors to Australia aged 12 or older are required to get vaccinated at least twice or granted exemption for exemptions. Those that have been confirmed positive for COVID-19 within the last six months can be exempt. Djokovic, who is staying at a detention hotel and currently filing suit against the Australian federal court, is asserting that he meets the requirements to be exempt from vaccination, as he has antibodies that developed from COVID from being tested positive less than a month ago.

However, the tennis player is being called into question as previous photos show that he had attended various events without wearing a mask shortly after being tested positive for COVID-19. He attended an event on Dec 16 commemorating his own postage stamp and was pictured with youth players attending an event hosted by the Tennis Association of Belgrade (photo). 　

Djokovic is an outspoken anti-vaxxer in the tennis community, had organized the Adria Tour when the ATP Tour shut down in 2020 due to COVID and had been confirmed positive for COVID-19 in 10 days. 　


Kyu-In Hwang kini@donga.com