Another tennis player has been detained by Australian Border Force officials and asked to leave the country ahead of the Australian Open.
Like Novak Djokovic, Czech tennis player Renata Voracava, had received a vaccine exemption due to a prior COVID-19 infection in the last six months. Czech officials are seeking an explanation but said Voracova had decided to leave Australia.
“We can confirm that Czech tennis player Renata Voracova is in the same detention as Djokovic, together with several other players,” the Czech Foreign Ministry said in a statement. “We submitted through our embassy in Canberra a protest note and are asking for an explanation of the situation. However, Renata Voracova decided to drop out of the tournament due to limited possibilities for training and to leave Australia.”
A third individual, an official, who entered Australia using the same exemption as Djokovic and Vorocava has voluntarily left the country, Australian Border Force said on Friday night.
According to The Age, the trio was granted exemption by the Victorian Health Department and a Tennis Australia expert panel. But the Australian government had informed Tennis Australia in November that it would not allow international arrivals to bypass vaccine requirement on this basis.
Djokovic released a public statement for the first time on Friday night. “Thank you to people around the world for your continuous support. I can feel it and it is greatly appreciated,” he said in a post on his Instagram stories.
He is scheduled to appear in Federal Circuit Court on Monday to challenge his visa cancellation and deportation.
