Australian Open 2022: Renata Voracova to demand compensation after ‘traumatic’ deportation
While the Novak Djokovic saga rolls on, the other tennis star who faced a ‘traumatic’ deportation is demanding money over her harrowing ordeal.
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The WTA has moved to defend unvaccinated tennis player Renata Voracova as the Czech star said she would demand compensation from Tennis Australia after being detained in Melbourne on the same visa grounds as Serbian star Novak Djokovic last week.
Both Djokovic and Voracova had their visas cancelled after presenting Covid-19 vaccination exemptions ahead of the Australian Open starting next Monday.
They were put in a detention centre in Melbourne pending a decision by Australian authorities - a situation described by the Professional Tennis Players Association as ‘traumatic’ for Voracova.
In a later statement, the WTA said Voracova had “done nothing wrong” to result in the cancellation of her visa.
“The complications experienced over the past few days where athletes have followed the approved and authorized process of receiving a medical exemption for entry into the country are unfortunate,” the statement read.
“Renata Voracova followed these rules and procedures, was cleared for entry upon her arrival, competed in an event and then suddenly had her visa cancelled when she had done nothing wrong.
“We will continue to work with all authorities on addressing this unfortunate situation in an appropriate manner.”
While Voracova left Australia after being released on Saturday, Djokovic has stayed and is awaiting the final verdict on his status from the Australian government.
The compensation request “won’t be small,” the 38-year-old Voracova, ranked 82nd in doubles, told the Denik daily.
“The air ticket alone cost 60,000 Czech crowns ($A3875) and my coach travelled with me. And then there is all that time, hotels, training for the Grand Slam, the potential prize money.” “I hope Tennis Australia will face up to it and that we won’t have to take legal steps,” added Voracova, who said she had no appetite for tennis since landing in Prague on Monday.
“I’m not thinking about tennis. I’m still waking up from the shock, I haven’t processed it yet. I’m exhausted,” Voracova said.
Please don’t forget about @WTA player #RenataVoracova. See below:
— Vasek Pospisil (@VasekPospisil) January 11, 2022
(@ptpaplayers) pic.twitter.com/JDcXkcMvNz
She added she did not want to look back at what had happened in Melbourne.
“I didn’t expect that in the darkest dream, it was just too much,” said Voracova, who admitted bursting into tears during questioning after she had been detained.
“I was worried. I didn’t feel safe until I was back home, nothing was certain.”
“It was as if I were watching a film -- a long interrogation with instructions such as ‘undress, get dressed’. Yuck, I don’t even want to think about it, let alone live it again.”
DRAMATIC TWIST AS UNVAXXED PLAYER IN DJOKER’S HOTEL DEPORTED
Unvaccinated tennis player Renata Voráčová has been deported Australia after being held in detention in the same hotel as Novak Djokovic.
An Australian government source said on Saturday that Voráčová had flown out of Australia.
It is understood she flew from Melbourne to Dubai on a flight at 10:30pm on Saturday night.
Images earlier showed a woman who appeared to be Voracova in a vehicle leaving the detention centre.
She confirmed she was leaving the country on her personal Instagram, writing in a story: “Hello everyone, I would like to thank you for all the encouraging messages in these difficult days for me. Also would you like to inform you that I am in the process of returning to the country soon.”
It comes after Voráčová lifted the lid on the “very unpleasant” conditions of the hotel.
The doubles player from Czech Republic was stopped by Australian Border Force officials on Thursday and taken to the Park Hotel in Carlton where world No 1 Novak Djokovic has been staying since his visa was revoked.
Unvaccinated Czech tennis player Renata Voracova has officially left Australia. She caught a 10.30pm flight out of Melbourne to Dubai. #AusOpen@theheraldsunpic.twitter.com/on0Kw4I1LB
— Mitch Clarke (@96mitchclarke) January 8, 2022
The 38-year-old described the moment plain clothed men apprehended her and expressed her surprise this could even have happened.
“Very unpleasant,” Voráčová said to the Czech media when asked about the conditions.
“The men in plain clothes with the police came for me and deported me to the local detention hotel,” she said. “You don’t expect anything like this to meet you here.
“Beetles and insects are not here, but it is not a place where you would like to spend more time.
The hotel is an establishment housing around 32 detainees who cannot leave the hotel and nobody is allowed in or out except staff. Migrants say the rooms are relatively small.
The Park Hotel gained notoriety last December when a fire in the building forced refugees and asylum seekers to be evacuated. One person was hospitalised for smoke inhalation. There were no fatalities.
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A week later, asylum seekers posted images to social media showing food they had been served allegedly filled with maggots alongside mouldy pieces of bread.
Voráčová had already competed in an Australian Open warm-up event in Melbourne.
The Czech foreign Ministry spokeswoman Aneta Kovarova has since confirmed Voracova will leave Australia.
“We can confirm that the Czech tennis player Renata Voracova is in the same detention as Djokovic,” Kovarova said. “Together with several other tennis players. Our consulate general in Sydney is now dealing with the situation and is in contact with the tennis player.
“We have filed a protest note with the Australian authorities through the embassy in Canberra, asking them to explain the situation.
“Nevertheless, Renata Voracova decided to give up further participation in the tournament due to the limited possibility of training and to leave Australia.”
The Australian Border Force confirmed its investigation into the visa status of two other individuals connected to the Australian Open had concluded.
“The ABF can confirm that one individual has voluntarily departed Australia following ABF inquiries,” it said.
ABF also confirmed that “the visa of a third individual has been cancelled. This person has been taken into immigration detention pending their removal from Australia”.
Reports suggested Voráčová was deported on Saturday night.
KYRGIOS SLAMS DJOKOVIC FIASCO
Aussie tennis ace Nick Kyrgios has broken his silence on the Novak Djokovic fiasco.
Kyrgios, who has publicly called out Djokovic in the past, said the way Djokovic was being treated by authorities was “bad”.
“Look I definitely believe in taking action, I got vaccinated because of others and for my mum’s health,” he said.
“But how we are handling Novak’s situation is bad, really bad. Like these memes, headlines, this is one of our great champions but at the end of the day, he is human. Do better.”
Kyrgios and Djokovic have a complicated past, with the two openly feuding at times during their time on the tour.
Kyrgios was quick to call out Djokovic over his ill-fated charity event the Adria Tour, which ended with the Serbian and a number of high profile players getting Covid.
“Djokovic is a tool,” Kyrgios posted on social media at the time.
Djokovic fired back during last year’s Australian Open.
“I think he’s good for the sport,” Djokovic said.
“He’s someone that is different and goes about his tennis (and) his off-court things in his own authentic way. I have respect for him.
What Novak is going through right now is not right. There’s no justification for the treatment he’s receiving. He followed the rules, was allowed to enter Australia, and now he’s being detained against his own will. This is such a shame. #IStandWithNovak
— John Isner (@JohnIsner) January 7, 2022
“I have respect for everyone else really because everyone has a right and freedom to choose how they want to express themselves and what they want to do.
“My respect goes to him for the tennis he’s playing. I think he’s a very talented guy, he’s got a big game and he’s proven that he has a quality to beat any player in the world.
“Off the court I don’t have much respect for him, to be honest. That’s where I’ll close it. I don’t really have any further comments for him and his own comments for me or anything else he’s trying to do.”
Meanwhile, big-serving American John Isner has condemned the treatment of Djokovic, claiming the Serbian world No.1 followed the rules and was being detained unfairly.
“There’s no justification for the treatment he’s receiving,” Isner said. “This is such a shame.”
His comments came as Djokovic’s fans rallied in the rain Friday to protest his detention, a development that reverberated globally and sparked an angry reaction from Serbia.
About 50 protesters — a mix of tennis fans, anti-vaccine demonstrators and immigrant rights activists — congregated on Orthodox Christmas Day at a detention facility in Melbourne.
“We come out to support him just because it’s our Christmas and obviously he’s going through a lot,” said fan Sash Aleksic on the sodden street outside the building.
Our official statement regarding Novak Djokovic.#CreatedByThePlayersForThePlayers 🎾 pic.twitter.com/cnY0QdnVZl
— Professional Tennis Players Association (@ptpaplayers) January 7, 2022
“There would obviously be a lot more people here if people did not have family obligations today.”
The former Park Hotel, now officially known as an “alternative place of detention”, holds about 32 refugees and asylum seekers trapped in Australia’s hardline immigration system.
It is believed the world’s top tennis player is among them, although border authorities have refused to confirm where Djokovic is detained.
The five-storey centre gained notoriety last year when a fire forced migrants to be evacuated, and maggots were allegedly found in the food.
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