BBC exclusive Djokovic: ‘I’m not anti-vaccine, but I’ll give up tournaments if I’m forced to get vaccinated’

Novak Djokovic said he would rather miss out on future tennis tournaments than be forced to receive a Covid vaccine.

In an exclusive interview with the BBC, he said that he is not linked to the anti-vaccination movement, but that he supports an individual’s right to choose.

Asked if he would agree to sit out competitions like Wimbledon and the French Open because of his stance on the vaccine, Djokovic replied: “Yes, that’s the price I’m willing to pay.”

The tennis player who has won 20 Grand Slams in his career was deported from Australia last month after the government canceled his visa in a dispute over his vaccination status.

Djokovic, who is the number one tennis player in the world, claimed he had obtained a medical exemption to enter the country to play the Australian Open as he had recently recovered from Covid-19.

However, the country’s immigration minister, Alex Hawke, personally canceled Djokovic’s visa, claiming that his presence could incite “civil unrest” and encourage the anti-vaccination movement.

“I was never against vaccinations,” he told the BBC, saying he had vaccines as a child, “but I have always supported the freedom to choose what you put in your body.”

In his first interview since being detained in Melbourne in January, Djokovic spoke to the BBC about speculation about his positive Covid case in December and discussed his own attitude towards the vaccine.

Djokovic said he expects the vaccination criteria at tennis tournaments to change, adding that he hopes “to be able to play for many more years”.

But he also confirmed that he was willing to give up the chance to become statistically the greatest male tennis player of all time because he says he has a lot of conviction about his positions. Djokovic’s rival Rafael Nadal has won 21 Grand Slam titles — more than any other men’s tennis player in history.

Asked why, he replied, “Because the decision-making principles about my body are more important than any title or anything else. I’m trying to be in tune with my body as much as I can.”

Djokovic said he “has always been a great student of wellness, health and nutrition,” and that his decision was influenced by the positive impact that changes in his diet and sleep patterns had on his athletic abilities.

He said he was “keeping an open mind” about the possibility of being vaccinated in the future, “because we are all collectively trying to find the best possible solution to end Covid.”

“I have never been against vaccination. I understand that, globally, everyone is trying to make a big effort to deal with this virus and hopefully come to an end soon for this virus.”

Raised in the midst of two wars in the former Yugoslavia by parents who sold their family’s gold and borrowed from loan sharks to finance their ambitions, Djokovic is fluent in six languages ​​and is possibly the greatest tennis player in history; and also a deeply committed libertarian who believes strongly in individual autonomy.

He’s clearly thought a lot about the conflict between individual autonomy and the collective good—and he argues that, as an elite athlete, your body is your business. He says he has an open mind, but the way things are, he claims he won’t get vaccinated.

In the BBC interview, Djokovic also addressed speculation about the events leading up to the Australian Open in January.

Some have suggested that it was expedient that Djokovic’s positive Covid case in mid-December had come just in time for him to receive a medical exemption to participate in the tournament.

“I understand that there’s a lot of criticism and I understand that people have different theories about how lucky I was or how convenient it is,” he said.

“But no one has the luck and the convenience to catch Covid. Millions of people have Covid and are still fighting the disease all over the world. So I take this very seriously, I really don’t like anyone to think I manipulated something or I twisted it in my own favor to get a positive PCR test and get to Australia.”

Asked if he was aware of any attempt to tamper with any of the tests he had done for Covid – earlier this month a BBC report had cast doubt on the case – he categorically said no.

He also spoke about the time he spent in detention in Melbourne last month.

“I was very sad and disappointed with how it all ended for me in Australia,” he said. “It was not easy.”

His medical waiver application was made anonymously and had been accepted by two independent Australian panels. However, in a separate travel declaration there was an error.

“The visa declaration error was not done deliberately,” Djokovic said. “It was accepted and confirmed by the Federal Court and by the minister himself at the Australian Ministry of Immigration.”

“So actually, what people probably don’t know is that I wasn’t deported from Australia because I wasn’t vaccinated, or I broke some rule, or that I made a mistake on my visa statement. All of this was approved and validated by the Federal Court. of Australia and the Minister of Immigration.”

“The reason I was deported from Australia was because the Minister of Immigration used his power to cancel my visa based on his perception that I might create some anti-vaccination sentiment in the country or city, which I completely disagree with.”

What else does he want to know?

Analysis by Fergus Walsh, BBC News Medicine Editor

More than 10 billion doses of Covid vaccines have been administered worldwide, and about six in ten people on the planet have received at least one dose. So there is a wealth of information about vaccines. Like all drugs, Covid vaccines have potential side effects, but their safety profile is excellent. They have saved countless lives, prevented serious illness and can also protect against the long Covid.

These vaccines were developed in record time, but much of that process often involves delays in funding. Scientists involved in the tests and the regulators who approved them say there were no safety risks from these delays.

Some rare side effects didn’t show up until vaccines started being distributed to millions of people, which is why regulators continue to monitor safety week by week.

It’s hard to understand what else Novak Djokovic needs or wants to know. He says he doesn’t have enough information about “the vaccine” as if there was just one of them. There are many. As an elite athlete, he has a low risk of contracting Covid. But not zero. After all, he contracted the disease twice.