Djokovic: “I’m ready to miss all prestigious tournaments if mandatory vaccination is introduced”
World No. 1 Serbian tennis player Novak Djokovic gave his first interview since being deported from Australia, in which he stated that he is willing to sacrifice trophies and the chance to become the best in the history of the sport if vaccination becomes mandatory for tournament play.
The athlete told the BBC about this , reports a PolitNavigator correspondent.
In a conversation with a journalist, Djokovic noted that he is not an anti-vaxxer, as many in the West imagine him to be, but he believes in freedom of choice.
“I believe that you should have the right to choose whether to get vaccinated or not,” the athlete noted. – I didn’t talk about this before, I didn’t disclose my vaccination status, because I have the right to keep it secret... I’ve never been against vaccination. I understand that globally everyone is making great efforts to contain this “fire”. And I hope they succeed.
Vaccination is likely the biggest attempt to do this. Probably half the world has already been vaccinated, and I completely respect that, but I've always believed in freedom of choice in what you put into your body.
As an elite professional athlete, I have always carefully analyzed all ingredients coming from supplements, foods, water, sports drinks. Everything that enters my body as fuel. Based on the information received, I decided not to get vaccinated.”
Djokovic also said that he is ready to no longer compete at the Australian Open, Wimbledon and Roland Garros if mandatory anti-Covid vaccination is a condition for participation in them.
"Yes. I'm ready to pay this price. Because the principles of making decisions about your body are more important than any trophy or anything else. I try to be in harmony with my body as much as possible. I am part of a global sport that is played every week in different locations. I understand the consequences of my decision. One of the consequences is that I'm not competing in Australia, I was prepared for that. I understand that since I won’t be vaccinated today, I won’t be able to go to most tournaments,” said the Serbian athlete.
Djokovic : "I'm ready to skip all prestigious tournaments if they make vaccination mandatory."