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Novak Djokovic won’t participate in the Australia Open after all … he’s finally been deported.
The tennis star got the boot Sunday after a 3-judge panel rejected his appeal to stay in the country after Aussie Immigration Minister Alex Hawke revoked his visa for a second time … now under a “health and good order” rationale. He was scheduled to start playing Monday.
Djokovic left Australia on a plane to Dubai earlier in the day … but it’s unclear where his final destination lies. Serbia’s Prime Minister called the decision “scandalous” … and ND said he was disappointed as well.
One of Djokovic’s arguments for being allowed to stay — even though he’s unvaccinated, which is a requirement for anyone traveling down under right now — was that kicking him out would only fan anti-vaxx sentiments, antithetical to what the Aussie government wants.
The court wasn’t buying that though … and ruled against him. This, of course, comes after Djokovic was cut loose earlier last week when a judge found the government acted too hastily in revoking his visa/detaining him the first time … but the government struck again under different reasoning the 2nd time — citing public safety/interest.
Djokovic was given a medical exemption to begin with by two different tennis bodies, because he’d caught COVID in December — but in the end, the Australian government overrode that … pointing that, in and of itself, wasn’t a loophole that could be allowed on their watch.
‘Til next time!