‘Small percentage’ of Australian Open players, staff to receive COVID-19 medical exemptions

Australian Open organisers have confirmed a “small number” of tennis professionals and staff will be granted medical exemptions from vaccination to come to Australia for the summer tennis season.

Tennis officials said the first of up to 3000 players and support staff will arrive in either Sydney or Melbourne from December 28. Tournament boss Craig Tiley has expressed confidence that two of the world’s biggest names, Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal – who tested positive to COVID-19 after an exhibition event in the UAE – will play the first major of 2022.

Some tennis players and staff will be given medical exemptions for the Australian Open, according to Craig Tiley.Credit: Getty Images

Australian Open officials confirmed that any individuals who successfully obtain a medical exemption – a process they stressed was overseen by Border Force with a review mechanism established by the Victorian government – would not need to complete a period of quarantine once they arrived.

“The process of coming in is a 72-hour test before you get in [taken before flying], a negative test when you arrive, isolate until you get a negative result. You have to show proof of that negative test to get your accreditation, and then there’s a whole bunch of protocol to coach the players on what they need to be doing. They’re well versed in doing this around the world,” Tiley said.

“All the players are staying in the same accommodation. We have a minimised risk environment at the Crown, and they’ll be staying there as a group. There will be testing on site. We’ll be managing their movement.”

World No.1 Djokovic, who will be gunning for a 10th Australian Open title, has repeatedly refused to disclose his vaccination status.

Nadal confirmed he’d tested positive to COVID-19 after participating in an exhibition event in Abu Dhabi last week. Two women’s top 25 players who played the event – Ons Jabeur and Belinda Bencic – have also tested positive.

Tiley said no players had yet advised him that they had received a medical exemption. Players and their support staff are not obligated to disclose their status to Tennis Australia, which is removed from the screening process established on ATAGI (Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation) guidelines.

“The great thing is that everyone [coming to Australia] is vaccinated,” said Tiley.

“Everyone who is coming in is vaccinated and there will be a small percentage – a very small percentage – that will have a medical exemption.

“So if any player, fan [or] workforce is on site here – you’re either vaccinated or you have a medical exemption that’s approved and you’re on the Australian Immunisation Register.

“That provides us with safety and an extra level of comfort on site.”

Tiley said he last spoke to 20-time major winner Djokovic, and his support staff, last weekend.

“If Novak shows up at the Australian Open, he’ll either be vaccinated or he’ll have a medical exemption. [It’s] his choice on his medical condition, it’s his choice to keep personal and private like all of us would do with any condition we may or may not have.

“We are not going to force him or ask him to disclose that.”

Tiley was confident January’s major would proceed without major disruptions despite the prospect of crowd density limits being imposed by Victorian health officials.

“We have zero expectation from the information that we’ve received from the government that there’s going to be a cap on crowds,” Tiley said.

“We have a COVID-safe plan that’s been approved by the government.

“It’s gold standard. We will manage the crowd accordingly. It’s going to be a safe place to be.

“If there’s a position where we’ve got to limit the numbers, we’ll manage that accordingly.

“The good thing is there won’t be any zones. You’re going to be able to move across the entire precinct.”

Aside from Nadal, Olympic tennis champion Bencic and Tunisian Jabeur revealed their COVID-19 diagnoses overnight and both said they were fully vaccinated and experienced strong symptoms.

Bencic, Jabeur and Nadal had travelled to Abu Dhabi to play in the Mubadala World Tennis Championship exhibition.

Bencic lost to Jabeur, who had replaced US Open champion Emma Raducanu after the Briton tested positive for COVID-19 and withdrew from the event.

Instead of being worried by Nadal’s situation and the champion Spaniard’s frank admission that he was now in doubt for the Australian Open, Tiley said the timing was fortuitous.

“The players who are testing positive now – Rafa from last Saturday – they will complete a time when they become no longer infectious, when they’re shedding the virus and they will be fine,” Tiley said.

“Probably if you’re getting positive [now] is a good thing, never getting positive is a good thing, but if it’s going to be a situation where you want to play the Australian Open, your timing [to get the virus] would be now.”

Tiley reiterated that the lure for Djokovic to come to Australia was strong, and Australia’s entry conditions were likely to be similar at future tennis events across the globe.

“Novak wants to play the Australian Open,” said Tiley.

“We don’t talk much about the specifics of where he’s at. Medically he doesn’t talk to anyone about it, and I’m not going to question it either.

“It’s going to be extremely difficult for a tennis player in 2022 to travel around the world and not have, in each country, separately an exemption or be vaccinated. But that’s ultimately up to them. But I’m not going to ask Novak that, it’s none of my business.”

The world No.1’s father, Srdjan Djokovic, who has previously described Australia’s entry requirements surrounding COVID-19 as “blackmail,” predicted that his son would eventually break the record for major titles, a record he shares with Nadal and Roger Federer, regardless of him coming to Australia.

“Nobody will impose an opinion on him,” Srdjan Djokovic told Serbian television.

“We will wait for Roland Garros and his 21 ... grand slam title. He will win a few more grand slam titles until he retires – I think four or five.

“He will win at least twice in Wimbledon and some other slams for sure.”