Novak Djokovic left Australia on Sunday after losing his final bid to avoid deportation and play in the Australian Open despite being unvaccinated for COVID-19.
“I respect the Court’s ruling and I will cooperate with the relevant authorities in relation to my departure from the country,” he said in a statement.
Hawke welcomed the decision. His office did not immediately provide detail of how or when Djokovic would leave. But opposition spokesperson on the home affairs portfolio, Kristina Keneally, said Djokovic was being deported for what he said and did publicly overseas before the government gave him a visa in November.
“I will now be taking some time to rest and to recuperate, before making any further comments beyond this,” he said. There was evidence that Djokovic was to be deported based on Hawke’s assessment that he was considered a “talisman of a community of anti-vaccination sentiment.” Djokovic’s visa was initially canceled on Jan. 6 by a border official who decided he didn't qualify for a medical exemption from Australia’s rules for unvaccinated visitors. He was exempted from the tournament's vaccine rules because he had been infected with the virus within the previous six months.
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