Djokovic exemption application made six days after deadline

Documents have come to light in Melbourne that show Novak Djokovic tested positive to Covid six days after the Tennis Australia deadline to apply for a medical exemption.

Djokovic is believed to have used used his positive Covid-19 result from December 16 to gain a vaccination exemption from Tennis Australia.

Applications for exemptions had to be submitted to an independent medical panel by December 10, and had Djokovic submitted his application before the December 10 deadline he would not have succeeded as he had not then contracted the virus.

And submitted Federal Court documents showed that on December 30 Tennis Australia’s chief medical officer granted Djokovic a ‘medical exemption from Covid vaccination’ on the basis he had recently recovered from the virus, even though it broke their own deadline rules.

Unvaccinated players had been informed by Tennis Australia by letter on December 7 they could apply for a temporary medical exemption if they had caught the virus in the past six months.

On that date Djokovic had not tested positive and would not be able to enter Australia.

The revelations cast more doubt upon Tennis Australia as to why they broke the deadline and puts TA chief Craig Tiley’s position under greater scrutiny.