Category Archives: Tennis

Novak Djokovic: Australia cancels tennis player’s visa before Australian Open

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Immigration minister Alex Hawke revokes Serbian player’s visa

Novak Djokovic’s Australian visa has again been cancelled just days before the start of the Australian Open.

On Friday, the Australian immigration minister, Alex Hawke, exercised a personal power to cancel Djokovic’s visa, likely to result in the world No 1’s deportation and putting him out of contention for the grand slam tournament barring an against-the-odds court victory.

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Novak Djokovic back on court as investigations continue

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  • World No 1 allows training to be observed
  • Australian government looking at multiple issues

Novak Djokovic’s preparations for the Australian Open continued on Wednesday as the question of his presence in the country remained unresolved. Australia’s immigration minister, Alex Hawke, continues to deliberate over whether or not he should revoke Djokovic’s visa.

On Wednesday afternoon, Djokovic returned for his third practice at Melbourne Park since he was released from immigration detention. With a small contingent of media present, Djokovic trained with the Australian youngster Tristan Schoolkate and he continued to ease himself back into practice, working through a series of drills.

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Andy Murray says Djokovic has questions to answer as players dive into visa row

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  • Marton Fucsovics: ‘I don’t think Novak has the right to be here’
  • Djokovic may have put incorrect information on travel form

Andy Murray has welcomed Novak Djokovic’s release from immigration detention but he anticipates the men’s world No 1 will have a number of questions to answer in the coming days if he remains in Australia.

Djokovic spent his first full day of freedom focusing on tennis matters as he took to Melbourne’s Rod Laver Arena behind closed doors for much-needed practice after the best part of five days spent in a hotel room fighting the cancellation of his visa.

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Australian Border Force investigating whether Novak Djokovic made false travel claim

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Djokovic declared he had not travelled for 14 days before entering Australia, a claim apparently contradicted by social media posts. His visa was cancelled, then reinstated on Monday

The Australian Border Force is investigating whether Novak Djokovic incorrectly declared he had not travelled and would not do so for two weeks before his flight to Australia, in the latest twist in the tennis star’s visa cancellation saga.

Questions have been raised about the declaration completed by an agent for Djokovic, with social media posts seemingly showing he was in Belgrade on Christmas Day before flying to Australia from Spain on 4 January.

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GPs warn over children’s vaccine rollout ‘failings’; 3,500 cases in hospital nationwide – as it happened

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‘Serious failings’ in children’s vaccine rollout, GPs warn; 2,186 Covid cases in NSW hospitals, 816 in Victoria, 502 in Qld and 211 in SA; NSW reports 25,870 new Covid cases and 11 deaths, Victoria 37,944 cases and 13 deaths, Qld 20,566 cases after testing glitch fixed, SA 2,921 cases, ACT 1,508 cases and one death, Tasmania 1,379 cases, NT 594. This blog is now closed

The Health Services Union has warned the aged care sector is experiencing an “unprecedented crisis” with “chronic understaffing, excessive workloads and extended shifts” hitting the sector amid the Omicron wave of Covid-19.

According to a survey of more than 1,000 HSU members:

The Morrison government comprehensively failed to plan before allowing Omicron to rip through the community and modestly paid workers, and residents in aged care facilities who built this country, are paying the price. Only just over a third of members surveyed have received their booster shot, despite working overtime in high risk settings.

There are active outbreaks in almost 500 aged care facilities across the country. Yet workers can’t access RATs, they can’t access PPE. They are on the front line with very little protection. Not only are staff at risk but vulnerable residents are at a heightened risk of severe disease or death.

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‘Grateful’: Novak Djokovic thanks judge and takes to tennis court after release

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  • ‘Thank you all for standing with me’, tweets men’s tennis No 1
  • Mother says player was ‘subjected to torture and harassment’

Novak Djokovic ended an extraordinary day in Melbourne with his Australian Open dreams revived – for now – after winning an appeal against his visa cancellation. But his battle to stay in the country may yet have another twist in the tale, with the Australian government threatening to revoke his entry visa for a second time.

The circumstances have left the the world’s No 1 men’s tennis player, who spent four days in an immigration detention centre after his medical exemption from strict coronavirus vaccination rules was denied by border officials, in limbo days before he is due to begin the defence of his title next Monday.

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Novak Djokovic appeals in court against cancellation of Australian visa – live updates

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Lawyers for the Australian government have rejected tennis star’s claim he was given assurances a medical exemption would allow him to enter the country for the Australian Open as case heard in court

I have a live stream up and running now. Updates coming soon.

A spokesperson for the court says the hearing is going ahead, but the live stream is still down:

I am now advised the hearing has started. The court is working to rectify the situation. Apologies.

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Australian government fails in bid to delay Novak Djokovic visa court hearing by two days

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World No 1 challenging visa cancellation but legal experts split on whether court process can be resolved in time for Australian Open draw

A bid by the Morrison government to delay Novak Djokovic’s visa hearing by two days has been rejected by the federal circuit court.

In an order, published on Sunday, judge Anthony Kelly rejected the move which would have delayed the hearing until Wednesday – after Tennis Australia’s stated deadline to include the world number one in the Australian Open draw.

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Novak Djokovic relied on December Covid infection for Australian vaccine exemption, court documents reveal

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Tennis star accuses Australian government officials of unfairly pressuring him to accept visa cancellation, documents show

Novak Djokovic relied on a weeks-old Covid infection to justify his vaccine-free travel to Australia and was given a green light by the federal government just days before arriving in the country, court documents reveal.

Court documents associated with Djokovic’s challenge to his visa cancellation were published by the federal circuit court late Saturday, ahead of an urgent hearing on Monday.

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‘If it was me …’: tennis players respond to Novak Djokovic visa saga – video

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Figures from across the tennis world have weighed in on the controversy surrounding Novak Djokovic's entry – and now hotel detention – in Australia, as the world number one awaits a court ruling on his entry visa after his vaccine exemption was revoked. 

The 34-year-old is being held in isolation at the Park Hotel in Carlton, Melbourne, awaiting the outcome of an appeal against the decision to cancel the reigning Australian Open champion's entry visa and deport him. 

Players offered a range of views about Djokovic's predicament. 'In some way, I feel sorry for him. But at the same time, he knew the conditions since a lot of months ago, so he makes his own decision,' said the Spanish player Rafael Nadal

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Novak Djokovic ‘lured to Australia to be humiliated’, says Serbia

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Celebrities join politicians in condemning ‘political harassment’ of Belgrade-born tennis player

Serb politicians and celebrities have described the treatment of Novak Djokovic as shameful scapegoating, as the foreign ministry in Belgrade suggested the world tennis No 1 had been “lured to Australia … to be humiliated.”

The 34-year-old champion, who was born in the Serb capital, is in detention in an immigration hotel in Melbourne pending a legal challenge to Australia’s decision on Wednesday to cancel a visa allowing him to play in the Australian Open.

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Australian Open players given exemptions similar to Novak Djokovic under investigation

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Home affairs minister Karen Andrews says border force officials received intelligence about other players who may not have met entry requirements

The Australian Open could be thrown into further disarray with the home affairs minister, Karen Andrews, revealing other international players and officials are being investigated after Novak Djokovic’s visa was cancelled.

Andrews also defended the government’s treatment of Djokovic, who is in a Melbourne detention hotel waiting for a legal hearing, rejecting his family’s accusation the government was “keeping him captivity”.

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Novak Djokovic to remain in detention during court challenge to Australian visa cancellation

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Australian Open champion is challenging his deportation after the Australian prime minister said officials were ‘following the rules’

Novak Djokovic is awaiting his Australian Open fate in a Melbourne immigration hotel as the world No 1 mounts a legal challenge against Australia’s decision to cancel his visa.

Djokovic’s lawyers succeeded in a bid to stop him from being deported on Thursday with a full hearing in the federal circuit court now scheduled for Monday.

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Novak Djokovic wins interim injunction against deportation; more than 72,000 new cases nationwide – As it happened

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Karen Andrews, home affairs minister, did give a hint of how things might play out.

AAP reports that, before Novak Djokovic’s arrival, she said that while the Victorian government and Tennis Australia may allow a non-vaccinated player to compete in the Australian Open, it was the federal government that dealt with border entry requirements.

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Novak Djokovic’s Australian Open participation in doubt over visa row

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Novak Djokovic’s attempts to compete at the Australian Open this month were thrown into fresh doubt on Wednesday amid a spiralling outcry over his controversial “medical exemption” agreed by the tournament’s organisers.

The whereabouts of the world No 1 and reigning Australian champion were in doubt after he was held up at passport control at Tullamarine airport in Melbourne, the host city of the tournament, for several hours late at night.

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‘Appalling message’: outrage over Novak Djokovic’s medical exemption to play Australian Open

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Former AMA president says Djokovic shouldn’t be allowed into Australia, while fellow players express surprise at the decision

The decision to grant Novak Djokovic an exemption from Covid-19 vaccination requirements to play in the Australian Open in Melbourne has been labelled “appalling”, with some players expressing surprise at the late decision.

On Tuesday night, the defending Australian Open champion posted on Instagram that he was coming to Melbourne to participate in the tennis tournament with an “exemption permission”.

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Peng Shuai appearance fails to address concerns for her wellbeing, says WTA

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  • Peng retracts sexual assault claims in first foreign media interview
  • Women’s tennis governing body still wants ‘full and fair’ investigation'

The Women’s Tennis Association has reiterated its call for an investigation into the welfare of Peng Shuai and said a public appearance by the Chinese star on Sunday still did not address its concerns about her wellbeing.

On Sunday Peng said a message she had posted on Weibo, China’s Twitter-like platform, in early November in which she accused the former vice-premier Zhang Gaoli of sexual assault had been “misunderstood”.

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Peng Shuai retracts sexual assault claims as fears over wellbeing persist

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Claim contradicts Chinese tennis player’s social media post in which she accused senior party figure of coercing her into sex

The Chinese tennis star Peng Shuai has denied that she had accused a former senior official of having sexually assaulted her, in what is believed to be the first foreign press interview since her November essay caused a media storm.

“I wanted to make this very clear: I have never claimed, or written about anyone having sexually assaulted me,” Peng said. “With regards to Weibo, it’s about my personal privacy ... There’s been a lot of misunderstanding … There [should be] no distorted interpretation.”

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Tennis Australia denies seeking loopholes for unvaccinated players as Novak Djokovic included in draw

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Australian Open organisers say ‘all players, participants and staff’ must be vaccinated as Djokovic, who has not revealed his vaccination status, is included in tournament draw

Tennis Australia has hit back at suggestions it is seeking to exploit a “loophole” in border entry rules so unvaccinated players can compete in the upcoming Australian Open, as it included Novak Djokovic in the draw for the January grand slam.

Djokovic’s inclusion in the tournament draw, which was released on Wednesday afternoon, followed intense speculation about the world No 1’s ability to enter the country.

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Peng Shuai: International Tennis Federation does not want to ‘punish 1.4bn people’ with a China boycott

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  • Calls to pull tournaments over tennis star’s treatment
  • ITF president says governing body will not follow WTA’s stance

The International Tennis Federation has said it will not cancel any tournaments in China over concerns for Peng Shuai, because it does not want to “punish 1.4 billion people”.

The ITF – the world governing body for the sport – had been facing calls to join the Women’s Tennis Association in suspending all tournaments in China over the government’s refusal to provide assurances of Shuai’s wellbeing.

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