Just days before the Australian Open tournament, tennis champion Novak Djokovic had his visa cancelled.
The Australian Border Force announced that Djokovic “failed to provide appropriate evidence to meet the entry requirements to Australia, and his visa has been subsequently cancelled.”
The Force said it “will continue to ensure that those who arrive at our border comply with our laws and entry requirements,” adding that those with cancelled visas will be “detained and removed from Australia.”
Djokovic was traveling to Australia to compete in the Australian Open, which runs from Jan. 17 to 30.
According to the BBC, all players must be vaccinated or have an exemption amid the recent COVID-19 surge. This week, Djokovic wrote on Instagram that he had received such documentation, saying, “I’m heading Down Under with an exemption permission.”
But after the Serbian athlete, 34, landed in Melbourne on Jan. 5, authorities discovered his team had allegedly made an error on his paperwork and “had not requested a visa that permits medical exemptions for being unvaccinated,” per the BBC.
