Leaked email reveals shock Australian Open plan for unvaccinated stars

Novak Djokovic may get the chance to defend his Australian Open crown after all after a leaked email revealed details of the grand slam.

Victorian Sports and Major Events Minister Martin Pakula has responded after a leaked email to WTA players claimed unvaccinated tennis stars would be allowed to compete at the Australian Open after completing 14 days of hotel quarantine Down Under.

The email from the governing body of women’s tennis says fully vaccinated players won’t have to quarantine or remain in bubbles at all during the grand slam, which is scheduled to take place in Melbourne in January.

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As revealed in the email, which was posted on social media by tennis reporter Ben Rothenberg, unvaccinated players “must submit to regular testing” whereas fully vaccinated stars “will have complete freedom of movement”.

🐨Update on #AusOpen🐨

Per email sent to WTA players just now, Tennis Australia has told WTA PC that fully vaccinated players won’t be required to quarantine or bubble at all.

Unvaccinated players will be allowed to enter, TA tells WTA, but must do 14 days of hotel quarantine. pic.twitter.com/cu4NV8abYB

— Ben Rothenberg (@BenRothenberg) October 24, 2021

However, Mr Pakula told 3AW radio on Monday morning a plan was “not settled”.

“We are still resolving with Tennis Australia and the Commonwealth whether unvaccinated foreign nationals will be allowed into Australia at all, and if so, under what circumstances they will be allowed,” Mr Pakula said.

“Unvaccinated, we are still talking to the Commonwealth about whether the rule for international unvaccinated arrivals is either 14 days quarantine, or they are not coming into the country at all. We don’t expect that to be settled for another couple of weeks.

“In the end, it’s a federal decision about who gets into the country and the circumstances in which they get in. We are still having that conversation with them. And we’re obviously talking to Tennis Australia who is also talking to the Commonwealth.

“We’ll get all that sorted in plenty of time for every player on the tour to be very clear about what the rules will be. The one thing that we have assured them all, is that the vaccinated players will be treated the same way as any other vaccinated entrant to the country.”

The details sent to players from the governing body of women’s tennis comes after strong comments made by Australian politicians last week. Immigration Minister Alex Hawke said on Wednesday any sports stars hoping to compete in Australian competitions this summer would need to have had both doses of a TGA-approved vaccine.

Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews said last Tuesday he did not think unvaccinated tennis players would get a visa to enter the country. If they did, he said they would face quarantine and vaccinated players would not.

“I don’t think an unvaccinated tennis player is going to get a visa to come into this country,” he told reporters.

“If they did get a visa, they‘d probably have to quarantine for a couple of weeks when no other players will have to.

“I don’t think any other tennis player, or golfer, or Formula One driver, will even get a visa to get here.

“The vaccine doesn’t care what your tennis ranking is or how many Grand Slams you have won. Sorry, the virus does not care.

“Professional sport is part of that authorised worker list and they have to be double-dose vaccinated.”

Novak Djokovic hasn’t revealed publicly if he’s vaccinated or not. (Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images)

Novak Djokovic, the top ranked male player in the world who is chasing his fourth straight Australian Open title and 10th overall, has spoken in the past of his anti-vax tendencies. He has declined to reveal whether he has been vaccinated against Covid-19, telling Serbian newspaper Blic last week that it was a “private matter”.

“Things beings as they are, I still don’t know if I will go to Melbourne,” Djokovic said.

“I will not reveal my status whether I have been vaccinated or not, it is a private matter and an inappropriate inquiry.

“Of course I want to go, Australia is my most successful grand slam tournament. I want to compete, I love this sport and I am still motivated.

“I am following the situation regarding the Australian Open … I believe there will be a lot of restrictions just like this year, but I doubt there will be too many changes.”

Australian superstar Ash Barty has returned home after spending much of the year abroad and said she doesn’t have a problem with people who don’t want to make their vaccination status public.

“I didn’t feel there was a need for me to tell everyone whether I was vaccinated or not,’’ Barty said at an autograph signing session in Brisbane on the weekend.

“I have been vaccinated my whole life.

“I think players are entitled to … at the end of the day it’s part of your medical history. You understand people make decisions for different reasons and you have to respect that.

“From my point of view it’s personal to me. I had my vaccine in April. I was fit and healthy and I was doing it for the people around me to make sure we were safe. There is no judgment for me or necessity for me to see what others have done.’’