Prospect of no jab, no visa for Australian Open tennis stars

By JOHN PYE
AP Sports Writer

Political leaders in Australia says tennis players who haven’t received a COVID-19 vaccination are unlikely to get a visa to enter the country for the first major of 2022 at Melbourne Park. Victoria state Premier Daniel Andrews has already introduced a vaccine mandate for professional athletes competing in domestic leagues and has increased the pressure on international tennis players. Federal Immigration Minister Alex Hawke says it’s likely that “everyone that comes to Australia will have to be double vaccinated,” The vaccination debate has been ongoing in tennis for months. Novak Djokovic is the among the players who have advocated that the decision to get the vaccine should be a personal choice. Other players think it should be mandated.