Tennis Australia boss Craig Tiley breaks silence on Novak Djokovic saga in leaked video

Tennis Australia boss Craig Tiley has broken his silence in an internal video to staff, addressing the ‘finger pointing’ at his organisation. WATCH IT HERE.

Embattled Tennis Australia boss Craig Tiley has spoken for the first time since Novak Djokovic was denied entry to Australia, telling Australian Open staff that his team had done “everything they possibly could” amid a “lot of finger pointing and blaming”.

In a bombshell internal video obtained by the Sunday Herald Sun, Mr Tiley addressed all tournament staff, pledging to tell the full story behind the Djokovic drama.

“We’re going through a difficult time in the public arena right now (but) we’ll pull through it, we’ll get out on the other side,” Mr Tiley said in the video.

“Unfortunately over the last couple of days, there’s been a circumstance that relates to a couple of players, Novak particularly, (where we are) in a situation that is very difficult.

“We empathise with the situation we currently have ... We’re a player first event ... We’re working closely with Novak and his team, and others and their team, that are in this situation.”

Novak Djokovic has been in detention since Thursday

Mr Tiley claimed he had not commented publicly on the fiasco because of upcoming legal proceedings, despite Tennis Australia not actually being involved in the court case.

“I want to assure you that we are in a position where we would like to share with you all the information, and we will,” he said.

“We’ve chosen at this point not to be very public with it and simply because there is a pending lawsuit related to entry into Australia. Once that has run its course, we’ll be able to share more with you.

“There’s a lot of finger pointing going on and a lot of blaming going on, but I can assure you our team has done an unbelievable job and have done everything they possibly could according to all the instructions that they have been provided.”

It remains undecided if Novak Djokovic will contest the 2022 Aus Open

Mr Tiley, who has gone to ground over recent days, said over 2500 players and their teams had now arrived in Australia to participate in lead up tournaments.

“We’ve still got a few to go but we’ve nearly completed a massive logistical exercise,” he said.

Mr Tiley urged all players and officials to stay safe by wearing masks and taking rapid tests amid the Omicron variant.

Despite the international headlines putting a huge cloud over the tournament, Mr Tiley said the Melbourne Park precinct was shaping up to make the 2022 tournament the “best we’ve ever had”.

“For fans coming on to the site they are going to see things and experience things they’ve never had before, and I want to make them come back next year,” he added.

“We’re going to deliver an event that people are going to say ‘2022 was the best event I’ve ever been to’.”

Originally published as Tennis Australia boss Craig Tiley breaks silence on Novak Djokovic saga in leaked video