Tennis Australia has said no player has applied for a medical exemption to play at the Australian Open amid reports that Novak Djokovic is opting to go through the process in order to play.
Tournament director Criag Tiley told ABC on Thursday that all players who want to play at the grand slam must be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 in line with a health mandate which has been implemented in the region. However, in some circumstances players could participate in the event if they are not fully jabbed as long as they have been given a special medical exemption. According to the documentation sent to players, those who suffer from an acute medical condition or have suffered from inflammatory cardiac illness over the past six months would qualify for such a pass.
“To be clear upfront, no one can play the Australian Open unless they are vaccinated,” Tiley told the ABC.
“The only condition at which, outside of being vaccinated, that you could compete is if you receive a medically approved exemption from Australian authorities …
“I’ve seen reports this morning. There’s been no medical exemptions that have been granted at this point.”
The scrutiny on medical exemptions has been elevated in recent days following a report first published by News Corporation Australia that world No.1 Djokovic is opting to use the system in order to play in the country. Although there has been no official confirmation about this. The Serbian has not disclosed whether he is vaccinated after previously saying he wants to keep his medical history private. It had also been claimed that Tennis Australia has backed Djokovic in his bid but they have denied this allegation.
Should the 20-time Grand Slam champion or any other player opt to go through the process they are likely to face even more scrutiny after the premier of Victoria, which is the state where the Australian Open is held, called for extra checks to be implemented. Daniel Andrews said he has been briefed by Tennis Australia that they are looking into the process of using a review panel regarding the awarding of any potential medical exemption in the future.
“I’m briefed that Tennis Australia are looking very, very closely [at] whether they might put in place a review mechanism with for instance a panel of medical experts to review any exemptions that were granted. And I fully support that.” He said.
“If Tennis Australia go down the review process to check that all exemptions – and I won’t comment on any individual – that any exemptions were appropriate, then I think that would be a very good step.”
At present, when a player applies for a medical exemption a panel of medical specialists looks at a blind copy of their medical records and then makes a decision.
The next deadline for players to commit to the Australian Open will be December 28th which will most likely be a clearer picture of who is playing at the Melbourne major. The entry list was revealed earlier this week but it is only provisional. Serena Williams, Bianca Andreescu, Roger Federer and Stan Wawrinka will all miss the event.
The Australian Open will start on January 17th.
