Tennis star Novak Djokovic lost his chance to defend his Australian Open title after an Australian court ruled on Sunday that his visa has been revoked and he will now be deported.
Three federal court judges sided with a decision taken by Immigration Minister Alex Hawke on Friday to cancel the 34-year-old Serb’s visa on public grounds.
The verdict means that Djokovic, who was not vaccinated against Covid-19, will remain in custody in Melbourne until he is deported.
A deportation order usually also includes a three-year ban on returning to Australia.
According to The Independent, the minister cancelled the visa on the grounds that Djokovic’s presence in Australia could pose a risk to the health and “good order” of the Australian public and could be “counterproductive to vaccination attempts by others in Australia”.
Djokovic were supposed to play his first round of the Australian Open on Monday night on a day 1 program that was announced while he was still in legal limbo. This was whilst he was still fighting to not be deported.
The Australian government has cancelled Djokovic’s visa due to issues surrounding his position against Covid-19 vaccination.
This came four days after the Serbian star reversed an earlier decision to cancel his visa by a court on procedural grounds. A border official originally cancelled his visa after deciding that Djokovic did not qualify for a medical exemption from Australia’s rules for unvaccinated visitors.
He spent four nights in immigration detention before the first court hearing and was locked in an immigration hotel again on Saturday night while waiting for his appeal. A medical release that allowed the Serbian star to enter the country without being vaccinated has sparked outrage in Australia, and has become a political issue for Prime Minister Scott Morrison, who is due to call a federal election in May.
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