Novak Djokovic’s participation in Australian Open still uncertain

Australian Open organisers are still unsure if defending men’s champion Novak Djokovic will play at next month’s Grand Slam.

Serbia’s Djokovic, 34, has not spoken publicly about his vaccination status.

All players and staff at the Australian Open must be vaccinated or have a medical exemption granted by an independent panel of experts.

“If Novak shows up, he’ll be vaccinated or have a medical exemption,” said tournament director Craig Tiley.

However, Tiley is confident Spain’s Rafael Nadal will be there despite testing positive for COVID-19 this week.

The Australian Open starts in Melbourne on January 17, with players starting to arrive in the country over the next week for warm-up events.

Djokovic, who would be going for a record 21st men’s Grand Slam title and 10th Australian Open title, is down on the entry list.

He is also named in the field to play for Serbia in the ATP Cup, which starts in Sydney on January 1.

Tiley said “a small percentage” of unvaccinated players and staff would be granted medical exemptions. He said he was not aware of any players informing organisers they had an exemption.

Nadal, who is tied with Djokovic and Switzerland’s Roger Federer on 20 major titles, tested positive for COVID-19 after returning to Spain from the Mubadala World Tennis Championship in Abu Dhabi.