Djokovic Lands In Serbia As Questions Arise Over French Open
Jan 17, 2022, 10:24 AM | Updated: 11:15 am
Novak Djokovic of Serbia serves to Tennys Sandgren of the United States on Day 6 at the 2020 Western & Southern Open at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center on August 25, 2020 in the Queens borough of New York City. (Photo by Peter Staples/ATP Tour via Getty Images)
(Photo by Peter Staples/ATP Tour via Getty Images)
BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) — Novak Djokovic has returned home after being thwarted from defending his Australian Open title only to face a new predicament: He could be barred from the French Open this year, too, if he’s still not vaccinated against COVID-19.
A plane carrying the No. 1-ranked player touched down in his native Serbia on Monday.
BREAKING: A plane carrying tennis star Novak Djokovic has landed in his native Serbia after he was deported from Australia for not being vaccinated against COVID-19. https://t.co/SUUH72cA6T
— The Associated Press (@AP) January 17, 2022
That closed at least the first chapter in a dizzying drama that has resonance in the world of elite sports, Australian pandemic politics and the polarized debate over the coronavirus shots.
But his troubles may not be over yet: He could be barred from the French Open this year, under a new law intended to exclude the unvaccinated from stadiums and other public places.
