Novak Djokovic news: ‘It would be devastating for sport in general if Serbian is not able to play’

Shahida Jacobs
February 16, 2022

It would be “the best thing for all of us” if Novak Djokovic is allowed to play as many tournaments as he can, according to Eurosport pundit Alex Corretja.

There are major doubts over the Serbian’s participation in several events after he confirmed that he remains unvaccinated against Covid-19 and will not get the jab “because the principles of decision making on my body are more important than any title or anything else”.

He admitted that missing Wimbledon and the French Open was a “price that I’m willing to pay”, but he is likely to feature at the All England Club after Tim Henman revealed that they will follow government regulations.

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However, the world No 1’s participation at the French Open as well as tournaments on American soil – including the US Open – is also under a cloud as travellers to the United States need to be vaccinated.

Former world No 2 Corretja, though, is adamant that while Djokovic should adhere to the rules of every country, it would be bad for “sport in general” if he doesn’t play regularly.

“It will be shocking if he’s not going to be able to play in the next two years because of not getting the vaccination,” he told Eurosport.

“That would be devastation for our sport, and therefore sport in general.

“I hope he’s going to be able to play as many tournaments as he can. And definitely he knows that he will need to respect the rules of every country. I know he knows that and he is willing to pay that price.

“If he says ‘I’m not vaccinated, can I play?’ and they say yes, he will go. And if they say ‘you need to get vaccinated’, he will stay at home.

“I think it’d be better if he can play as many tournaments as he can. This will be nicer and we will have the number one in the world playing the tournaments, which I think is the best thing for all of us.”

Alex Corretja Novak Djokovic