US Open champion Daniil Medvedev is jabbed and ready for the Australian Open but world No 1 Novak Djokovic has yet to reveal his hand ahead of the likely announcement that non-vaccinated players will be banned
- Medvedev stated on social media that he will be seeing everyone in Australia
- Non-vaccinated players are likely to be banned from Melbourne Park
- Some tournaments in the United States expected to follow suit next year
Daniil Medvedev has pre-empted next week’s expected declaration of Australian Open vaccination policies by confirming that he will be playing there.
Novak Djokovic has yet to reveal his hand ahead of the likely announcement that non-vaccinated players will be banned from Melbourne Park.
Earlier this week, US Open champion Medvedev stated on social media that he will be seeing everyone in Australia.
Daniil Medvedev (right) and Novak Djokovic feature in the line-up at the ATP Finals in Turin
Asked if that meant he had received the jab, he responded: ‘The rule at this moment is if you are vaccinated you can go and just play, if you aren’t then you can’t go, so that’s the answer. Everyone who is there is vaccinated.’
The Russian was speaking ahead of the ATP Finals in Turin, which start on Sunday at their new venue after making the switch from London. Next week will see the launch of the 2022 Australian Open, which has so far held off telling the players what they have to do in order to take part. Yet Victoria State Premier Daniel Andrews has been adamant players will need to be jabbed.
Sportsmail understands that talks are already advanced among some of the bigger tournaments in the United States that they will be following suit next year. A spokesperson for the Indian Wells event declined to comment. Therefore the vaccine-hesitant — it is believed Djokovic is not the only one — can expect to be severely restricted as to what tournaments they can play in if they choose not to accept a vaccine.
The most recent ‘semi-official’ estimates suggest that at least 75 per cent of tennis players are now jabbed, with that number rising. Once the Australian tournament policy becomes formalised the likely outcome is that the vast majority of players will make themselves eligible to compete in it.
Djokovic and Medvedev head the two groups of four in Turin, while Joe Salisbury and Jamie Murray will be featuring among the top eight teams in the doubles.