Welcome: Novak Djokovic
(Picture: Getty Images)Novak Djokovic is set to be granted a visa to compete at the Australian Open in January a year after being deported from the country over its Covid rules.
Australian media reported on Tuesday that immigration minister Andrew Giles was planning to overturn the three-year ban from crossing Australian borders by granting him a visa.
It comes 12 months after the storm surrounding Djokovic, who had arrived Down Under believing his recent diagnosis for Covid meant he was able to travel there.
But he was detained by Australian officials and lost a federal court case to play in the tournament before being deported.
Former immigration minister Alex Hawke had previously ejected Djokovic from the country on the basis that he would be a “perceived talisman of a community of anti-vaccine sentiment”.
Australia had boasted some of the strictest entry criteria concerning Covid. But it is now no longer a legal requirement to be vaccinated to visit.
Tennis Australia had previously insisted it would not play a part in pushing for a Djokovic reprieve but said it was hopeful Australian officials would overturn the previous three-year ban.
Djokovic is currently playing at the end-of-season ATP Tour Finals in Turin.
