Novak Djokovic will be allowed to defend his Wimbledon crown after the tournament officials decided not to apply vaccine mandates.
As a result, the unapologetically unvaccinated Novak Djokovic will be allowed to take to grass courts in London in June’s event.
The CEO of All England Lawn Tennis Club, Sally Bolton, announced their decision on Tuesday that the tournament would not mandate vaccination against COVID-19.
She went on to add that participants are not required to quarantine on arrival either ahead of the tournament.
“The requirements set up do not include mandatory vaccination,” Bolton said. “It will not be a condition of entry for the championships this year.”
Wimbledon begins on June 27, when Djokovic has a shot at becoming a seven-time champion on the grass court.
Djokovic’s fight against vaccine mandates came to the public eye at this year’s Australian Open.
The Serbian was in Australia and even practiced in the courts after being sent to a quarantined hotel in a litigious tug of war with the top officials in the country.
The 20-time grand slam champion was ultimately sent home because of his unvaccinated status and failed to defend his Australian Open crown.
The matter played out in the court system as Australian officials flagged Djokovic for breaking quarantine before his arrival and submitting inaccurate documentation to receive an exemption to play in the January event.
In his absence, Rafael Nadal stole a march on him and Roger Federer by winning the tournament and becoming the first players in history to win 21 majors.
His fight against the status quo is not over though as he publicly objected to Wimbledon’s ban of Russian and Belarusian players from the 2022 event.
Bolton however defended the decision once again and said that the decision was made under direct guidance from the British government.
Among the banned players on the men’s side are World No. 2 Daniil Medvedev and No. 8 Andrey Rublev who recently defeated Djokovic in Belgrade.
Djokovic, 34, is seeking the 21st major championship that will tie him with Rafael Nadal with 20 Grand Slam titles.
