Staff Reporter.
Novak Djokovic can defend his Wimbledon title after organisers said players who are not vaccinated against Covid-19 will be allowed to compete.
The Serbian world number one, 34, was not allowed to play at the Australian Open in January following a row that centred around him being unvaccinated.
“The requirement set out by the government to enter the UK does not include mandatory vaccination,” All England Lawn Tennis Club chief executive Sally Bolton told a news conference.
“Therefore, while it is of course encouraged, it is not a condition of entry.”
Wimbledon takes place from 27 June to 10 July.
After the high-profile saga around the Australian Open, which ended with him being deported because of his Covid status, Djokovic then missed other tournaments including Indian Wells and Miami because of coronavirus rules for entry to the United States.
During that period he also lost the world number one ranking to Russian Daniil Medvedev but has since reclaimed it and has been back at tournaments with many countries relaxing their entry requirements regarding vaccination.
Djokovic reached his first final of the year last weekend, losing to Russian Andre Rubley in the Serbia Open in Belgrade.
Djokovic, who has won 20 Grand Slam titles, told the BBC in February he would rather miss out on future tennis trophies than be forced to get a Covid vaccine.
Meanwhile Rafael Nadal is to return to competitive action at next week’s Madrid Open, a month out from the French Open which the Spanish legend has won 13 times.
The 35-year-old resumed training last week after being on the sidelines for four weeks due to a rib injury.
He said on social media he wanted to play in the Spanish capital despite being “short of preparation”.
Nadal picked up the injury in his loss to American Taylor Fritz in the Indian Wells final on March 22, announcing at the time he expected to be out for between four and six weeks.
That defeat ended his perfect 20-0 run to start 2022 which had included winning the Australian Open title.
Nadal beat Daniil Medvedev in an epic final in Melbourne after Novak Djokovic was deported from Australia over his Covid vaccination status.
That victory gave him a men’s record 21st Grand Slam title, moving him out of a tie with Djokovic and Roger Federer.
Elsewhere former men’s tennis world No 1 Roger Federer, plagued by recurring knee problems for the last two years, is to return to the ATP circuit at the Basle indoor tournament in October, organisers said.
Federer, who hasn’t played competitively since losing last July in the quarterfinals at Wimbledon to Pole Hubert Hurkacz, replied to the organisers’ Instagram post with the message: “Looking forward to playing back home.”