Novak Djokovic Will Not Be Playing In A Canadian Tournament Due To His Vaccination Status
The Wimbledon champion is unable to enter Canada.
Novak Djokovic holds up a hand to wave while on the court.
Tennis superstar Novak Djokovic won't be playing in this year's National Bank Open in Montreal.
And the reason is his COVID-19 vaccination status.
As reported by CTV News, the Wimbledon champion won't be playing in the men's tournament taking place from August 5 to 14 because he is not vaccinated against COVID-19.
This makes him unable to enter Canada due to the country's current COVID-19 vaccination rules.
At the moment, foreign nationals looking to enter Canada must be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 – which is defined as having at least two COVID-19 doses by Travel Canada.
Although the government has discussed changing that definition from "fully vaccinated" to "up-to-date" to reflect the changing nature of the virus and immunity.
In a press conference on July 15, Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos was asked if the rules for unvaccinated travellers should be changed, specifically in the case of Djokovic and the upcoming tennis tournament.
"The rules apply to everyone," said the health minister. "There are a few exceptions but these are limited exceptions."
"COVID-19 is not over yet," he said.
This isn't the first time Djokovic has encountered issues participating in tournaments because of his vaccination status.
The tennis star, who's racked up 21 men's singles titles and has been ranked the year-end number one for a record seven times, has stated that he will not be getting any COVID-19 vaccine doses.
Despite it preventing him from participating in certain tournaments.
In January of 2022, he missed the Australian Open after being deported from the country because of his lack of vaccination and he's been barred from several U.S. events as well.
He's also not expected to be playing in the upcoming U.S. Open as the U.S. requires full vaccination for entry as well.
While Djokovic has not publicly commented on this, fellow tennis player John Isner has called his barring from the American tournament "complete lunacy."