By Richard Pagliaro | Monday, January 17, 2022

 

If Novak Djokovic remains unvaccinated, he will be banned from defending his Roland Garros title after a new pandemic law passed in France.

Photo credit: Getty

Novak Djokovic nearly swept the Grand Slam last year.

The world No. 1 could be shut out of Grand Slam play this year—if he remains unvaccinated.

More: Djokovic Loses Appeal, Deported from Australia

Reigning Roland Garros champion Djokovic will be ineligible to defend his title in Paris if he's unvaccinated after a new pandemic law passed in France.

France’s Minister of Sports Roxana Maracineanu announced today mandatory vaccination for all athletes as part of a vaccine pass now required to attend sporting events in the nation.

“The rule is simple. The vaccine pass will be imposed, as soon as the law is promulgated, in establishments that were already subject to the health pass,” the Sports Ministry announced.

“This will apply to everyone who is a spectator or a professional sportsperson. And this until further notice."

Roland Garros starts May 22nd.

By then, pandemic protocol could change, but France's Sports Ministry said as of now "there's no exemption."

“Now, as far as Roland Garros is concerned, it’s in May," France's Sports Ministry said. "The situation may change between now and then and we hope that it will be more favorable. So we’ll see, but clearly there’s no exemption.”

That is a dramatic reversal for Djokovic as the French Tennis Federation president previously said the tournament would consider exemptions for players.

Two-time Roland Garros doubles champion and popular Frenchman Pierre-Hugues Herbert is unvaccinated and there was speculation the clay-court Grand Slam was planning exemptions for both reigning singles champion Djokovic and defending doubles champion Herbert.



The passing of the vaccine pass law makes that a moot point for now.

With the UK possibly enacting stricter pandemic measures prior to Wimbledon in June, it is possible Djokovic, who swept the first three Grand Slam titles of 2021 and reached the US Open final where Daniil Medvedev denied his dream of the first men's calendar Slam since Rocket Rod Laver in 1969, could be looking at a major lockout.

The question is: Will Djokovic decide to take the jab to continue his quest for Grand Slam history and a men's record 21st major title?

Will the world No. 1, who has opposed tournaments mandating vaccines in the best, adhere to his convictions, decline vaccination and derail one of the greatest careers in tennis history? Or could Djokovic opt to press pause on his playing schedule for a bit to wait and see how the pandemic, and national governments, respond in the coming months?

A trio of judges voted unanimously to uphold the decision of Immigration Minister Alex Hawke and cancel the 34-year-old Serbian’s visa for a second time on Sunday.

Djokovic, who was given a medical exemption to play the AO on December 30th after testing positive for Coronavirus on December 16th, was escorted by Australia’s Border Force to a private plane where he flew out of the nation to Dubai before taking a second flight home to Belgrade.

It is a major defeat for the world No. 1 who now faces the prospect of a three-year ban from Australia and uncertain competitive future if he opts to remain unvaxxed.

However, Djokovic did get some good news as Australian authorities point out Immigration Minister Hawke has the power to eliminate that three-year ban and reinstate the world No. 1's visa in the future if he complies with Australian law.

“I respect the Court’s ruling and I will cooperate with the relevant authorities in relation to my departure from the country,” Djokovic said in a statement. “I am uncomfortable that the focus of the past weeks has been on me and I hope that we can all now focus on the game and tournament I love.”

For now, nine-time Australian Open champion Djokovic will have time to reflect on his next move as the Melbourne major plays on without its most dominant men's champion.