Novak Djokovic will be allowed to defend his title at Wimbledon, despite not being vaccinated against Covid-19, because the shots are not required to enter Britain, All England Club chief executive Sally Bolton said on Tuesday.
Djokovic, the 34-year-old Serb who is ranked men’s No. 1, missed the Australian Open in January after being deported from that country because he was not vaccinated against Covid-19.
During the annual spring briefing ahead of Wimbledon, which starts on June 27, chief executive Bolton said that “whilst, of course, it is encouraged” that all players get vaccinated, “it will not be a condition of entry to compete” at the grass-court Grand Slam tournament this year.
Djokovic, in addition to being unable to defend his championship at Melbourne Park after an 11-day legal saga over whether he could remain in Australia, had to sit out tournaments at Indian Wells and Miami because he couldn’t travel to the US as a foreigner who is unvaccinated.
The US Tennis Association has said that it will follow whatever governmental rules are in place regarding Covid-19 vaccination status when the US Open is held starting in late August.
Djokovic — who has said he got Covid-19 twice, once each in 2020 and 2021 — owns 20 Grand Slam singles titles, tied with Roger Federer for the second-most for a man.
They trail Rafael Nadal, who won his 21st at the Australian Open. Six of Djokovic’s trophies came at Wimbledon, including in 2018, 2019 and 2021. It was not held in 2020 because of the pandemic.
The next major event is the French Open, which begins on May 22, and tournament director Amelie Mauresmo said last month there was nothing preventing Djokovic from defending his 2021 title in Paris.
The Italian Open, a clay-court tune-up for Roland Garros, has also said Djokovic can play there next month.