Wimbledon champion Novak Djokovic has been told to "roll up his sleeves and receive the vaccine" as the Serbian faces missing the US Open.
Djokovic has been outspoken about not wanting to get vaccinated against Covid-19, with his stance forcing him to miss this year's Australian Open. And he also looks set to miss the US Open, with America's Covid restrictions requiring foreigners to be vaccinated in order to enter the country.
Canada also have similar restrictions in place, meaning Djokovic is also likely to miss the Canadian Open in Montreal. The tournament takes place shortly before the US Open and typically forms a key part of a player's preparation for Flushing Meadows.
And when asked about Djokovic's potential involvement, Canadian Open director Eugene Lapierre said: "The situation is clear – either Canada will change the rules regarding vaccination or he [Djokovic] will have to roll up his sleeves and receive the vaccine."
Djokovic reiterated after his Wimbledon win that he has no intention of getting vaccinated in order to compete at the US Open and believes it is unlikely that he will be given an exemption.
"I'm not vaccinated and I'm not planning to get vaccinated so the only good news I can have is them removing the mandated green vaccine card or whatever you call it to enter United States or exemption," he said.
"I don't know. I don't think exemption is realistically possible. If that is a possibility, I don't know what exemption would be about. I don't know. I don't have much answers there."
Tennis icon John McEnroe recently labelled the situation "ridiculous" and called for Djokovic to be allowed to compete. He said: "These politicians are getting in the way too much. They did it in Australia.
"Let's let the guy come in and play in the U.S. I mean come on. This is ridiculous. But I don’t make those decisions. I hope someone makes the right one and allows him to play. That’s my personal opinion."
