London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Jul 31, 2025

Djokovic pictured maskless at public event one day after positive Covid test

Djokovic pictured maskless at public event one day after positive Covid test

Novak Djokovic faced fresh controversy over his attempt to enter Australia after pictures emerged on social media of his appearances at public events after a positive Covid test was recorded in mid-December

Novak Djokovic faced fresh controversy over his attempt to enter Australia to take part in the Open tennis tournament after pictures emerged on social media of his appearances at public events after a positive Covid test was recorded in mid-December, which allowed him an exemption from the country’s strict Covid rules.

Djokovic has spoken against vaccine mandates but has always refused to say what his own vaccination status is.

He has been kept in a Melbourne hotel since Thursday after his visa was cancelled due to problems with the medical exemption from vaccination granted by the organisers of the Australian Open.

Djokovic faces decision day on Monday as his appeal against the cancellation of his visa gets under way, after which he could be deported from the country.

According to court documents released on Saturday ahead of the hearing, Djokovic’s Covid-19 infection was recorded by the Institute of Public Health of Serbia on 16 December, which provided the basis for the medical exemption he received from the Tennis Australia and Victorian state government medical panels. He was granted his exemption on 30 December.

However, pictures on social media of Djokovic attending indoor events without a mask shortly after his Covid-19 test was recorded raise questions about Djokovic’s infection.

On 16 December, Djokovic attended an event commemorating his own personal stamp. Pictures were posted of Djokovic a day later at the Tennis Association of Belgrade for an award ceremony.

Djokovic was additionally pictured on the streets of Belgrade on 25 December despite Serbia’s rules requiring 14 days of self-isolation.

It is not clear if he knew he had Covid when the earlier pictures were taken.

Djokovic had attended a Euroleague basketball match between Red Star and Barcelona in Belgrade in the days before, during which numerous people present tested positive for Covid-19.

Djokovic’s PR team have told Serbian journalists that they will not be making any statements until after his case.

Since his visa was revoked in the early hours of Thursday morning and he was ordered to leave Australia, Djokovic has been detained in the Park hotel – an immigration detention hotel in Melbourne – as he awaits his hearing.


The federal government control the Australian borders and the border force decided that Djokovic had not satisfied entry requirements.

In his submission to the federal circuit court, Djokovic says he was granted a temporary visa to enter Australia on 18 November, and received a letter from the chief medical officer of Tennis Australia on 30 December recording he had a “medical exemption from Covid vaccination” on the grounds he had recently recovered from the virus.

On New Year’s Day, Djokovic had also received a document from the home affairs department about his Australian travel declaration, which told Djokovic “[his] Australia travel declaration [had] been assessed” and that “[his] responses indicated that [he met] the requirements for a quarantine-free arrival into Australia where permitted by the jurisdiction of your arrival”.

Djokovic claims that he was denied access to his legal team during parts of the eight hours of interviews he endured upon his arrival at Melbourne Airport on Wednesday night.

L’Equipe, the French sports newspaper, reported on Saturday that Djokovic gave a long interview to one of its writers on 18 December, for its Champion of Champions award, two days after his positive Covid-19 test. Djokovic was masked during the interview but then unmasked during the photoshoot.

Meanwhile, Renata Voracova, the Czech doubles specialist who had initially passed Australia’s border checks with the same medical exemption as Djokovic, has been deported from the country following her own subsequent detention.

Voracova was pictured leaving the Park hotel on Saturday afternoon and in an interview with Czech publication iDNES.cz she explained that she had planned to vaccinate herself in the off-season before catching Covid-19.

Voracova had competed in one tournament in Melbourne before she was detained and then she chose to voluntarily leave the country.

“Apparently the Australian Tennis Association has misled us, which is annoying. I wanted to focus on tennis, not visas, quarantine. It’s really weird that I spent a week here, played a match … and then they came for me,” she said.

The Australian health minister, Greg Hunt, on Sunday said the investigation of Australian Open visas had been finalised and Voracova and one official had left the country.

“My advice from border force is their assessment of any visas relating to the Australian Open has now been completed and two other individuals have now voluntarily left the country,” Hunt told reporters.

Earlier on Saturday, a leaked video obtained and published by News Corp showed Craig Tiley, the Tennis Australia boss, sending a video to his staff explaining his silence since Djokovic’s detention and commending their work.

“We’ve chosen at this point not to be very public with it … simply because there is a pending lawsuit related to entry into Australia. Once that has run its course, we’ll be able to share more with you,” Tiley said.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Former Judge Charged After Drunk Driving Crash Kills Comedian in Brazil
Jeff Bezos hasn’t paid a dollar in taxes for decades. He makes billions and pays $0 in taxes, LEGALLY
China Increases Use of Exit Bans Amid Rising U.S. Tensions
IMF Upgrades Global Growth Forecast as Weaker Dollar Supports Outlook
Procter & Gamble to Raise U.S. Prices to Offset One‑Billion‑Dollar Tariff Cost
House Republicans Move to Defund OECD Over Global Tax Dispute
Botswana Seeks Controlling Stake in De Beers as Anglo American Prepares Exit
Trump Administration Proposes Repeal of Obama‑Era Endangerment Finding, Dismantling Regulatory Basis for CO₂ Emissions Limits
France Opens Criminal Investigation into X Over Algorithm Manipulation Allegations
A family has been arrested in the UK for displaying the British flag
Mel Gibson refuses to work with Robert De Niro, saying, "Keep that woke clown away from me."
Trump Steamrolls EU in Landmark Trade Win: US–EU Trade Deal Imposes 15% Tariff on European Imports
ChatGPT CEO Sam Altman says people share personal info with ChatGPT but don’t know chats can be used as court evidence in legal cases.
The British propaganda channel BBC News lies again.
Deputy attorney general's second day of meeting with Ghislaine Maxwell has concluded
Controversial March in Switzerland Features Men Dressed in Nazi Uniforms
Politics is a good business: Barack Obama’s Reported Net Worth Growth, 1990–2025
Thai Civilian Death Toll Rises to 12 in Cambodian Cross-Border Attacks
TSUNAMI: Trump Just Crossed the Rubicon—And There’s No Turning Back
Over 120 Criminal Cases Dismissed in Boston Amid Public Defender Shortage
UN's Top Court Declares Environmental Protection a Legal Obligation Under International Law
"Crazy Thing": OpenAI's Sam Altman Warns Of AI Voice Fraud Crisis In Banking
The Podcaster Who Accidentally Revealed He Earns Over $10 Million a Year
Trump Announces $550 Billion Japanese Investment and New Trade Agreements with Indonesia and the Philippines
US Treasury Secretary Calls for Institutional Review of Federal Reserve Amid AI‑Driven Growth Expectations
UK Government Considers Dropping Demand for Apple Encryption Backdoor
Severe Flooding in South Korea Claims Lives Amid Ongoing Rescue Operations
Japanese Man Discovers Family Connection Through DNA Testing After Decades of Separation
Russia Signals Openness to Ukraine Peace Talks Amid Escalating Drone Warfare
Switzerland Implements Ban on Mammography Screening
Japanese Prime Minister Vows to Stay After Coalition Loses Upper House Majority
Pogacar Extends Dominance with Stage Fifteen Triumph at Tour de France
CEO Resigns Amid Controversy Over Relationship with HR Executive
Man Dies After Being Pulled Into MRI Machine Due to Metal Chain in New York Clinic
NVIDIA Achieves $4 Trillion Valuation Amid AI Demand
US Revokes Visas of Brazilian Corrupted Judges Amid Fake Bolsonaro Investigation
U.S. Congress Approves Rescissions Act Cutting Federal Funding for NPR and PBS
North Korea Restricts Foreign Tourist Access to New Seaside Resort
Brazil's Supreme Court Imposes Radical Restrictions on Former President Bolsonaro
Centrist Criticism of von der Leyen Resurfaces as she Survives EU Confidence Vote
Judge Criticizes DOJ Over Secrecy in Dropping Charges Against Gang Leader
Apple Closes $16.5 Billion Tax Dispute With Ireland
Von der Leyen Faces Setback Over €2 Trillion EU Budget Proposal
UK and Germany Collaborate on Global Military Equipment Sales
Trump Plans Over 10% Tariffs on African and Caribbean Nations
Flying Taxi CEO Reclaims Billionaire Status After Stock Surge
Epstein Files Deepen Republican Party Divide
Zuckerberg Faces $8 Billion Privacy Lawsuit From Meta Shareholders
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
SpaceX Nears $400 Billion Valuation With New Share Sale
×