Melbourne (CNN)The saga surrounding Novak Djokovic’s participation in this year’s Australian Open finally came to an end on Sunday after days of confusion.
The tennis star left Australia on an Emirates flight to Dubai after losing his legal challenge to a decision revoking his visa for the second time.
In a virtual hearing earlier in the day, three federal court judges unanimously dismissed Djokovic’s request to overturn the immigration minister’s decision to cancel his visa, but did not release reasons for the ruling.
The world No. 1 was due to play at the Australian Open in Melbourne on Monday night, where the defending champion had hoped to win a record-breaking 21st men’s Grand Slam title.
The high-profile off-the-court saga, which pitted one of tennis’ biggest stars against Australian government and public health officials, overshadowed preparations for the first tennis grand slam of the year.
In a statement, Djokovic said he was “extremely disappointed” with the decision and would work with the authorities regarding his departure from the country.
“I’m uncomfortable that the focus has been on me for the past few weeks and I hope that now we can all focus on the game and the tournament I love,” the statement added.
“I would like to wish the players, tournament officials, staff, volunteers and fans all the best for the tournament.”
Djokovic’s final destination after landing in Dubai has yet to be confirmed, but Serbian Prime Minister Ana Brnabic said she was looking forward to seeing the country’s star return home.
“I find the decision scandalous. I’m disappointed and I think it showed how the rule of law works in some other countries, ie how it doesn’t work,” Brnabic said in an interview with the Beta news agency in Belgrade.
“I look forward to seeing Djokovic in his own country, Serbia, and getting through this with him and supporting him during this difficult time for him.”
Meanwhile, Immigration Secretary Alex Hawke welcomed the court’s decision and stressed the government’s commitment to maintaining strong border policies.
Australia previously had some of the strictest border policies in the world to keep Covid-19 out. Hawke said these rules have kept Australians “safe” during the pandemic and are “fundamental” to “maintaining Australia’s social cohesion”.
“Australians have made great sacrifices to get to this point,” the statement said.
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison reiterated his message in a statement to the media.
“This cancellation decision was made on health, safety and order grounds as it was in the public interest. I applaud the decision to keep our borders strong and keep Australians safe,” he said.
“I thank the court for the immediate attention to these issues and the patience of everyone involved while we worked to resolve this issue. It is now time to move on to the Australian Open and get back to enjoying tennis for the summer.”
Although Covid-19 cases are increasing in Australia, the country has a high vaccination rate and the death toll from Covid-19 remains relatively low compared to other countries.
Last week, the country surpassed 1 million Covid-19 cases throughout the pandemic – but more than half of that in the past two weeks.
What happened in court
The hastily convened hearing in federal court on Sunday was about whether Hawke’s decision to annul Djokovic’s visa was “inappropriate.”
The 34-year-old Serbian tennis star challenged the immigration minister’s decision on three grounds, including that the minister failed to properly consider the consequences of his visa being annulled.
Djokovic’s lawyer, Nick Wood, said Hawke’s decision was “irrational” as the minister failed to take into account that the act itself could stir up anti-vaxxers – exactly what the government wanted to prevent.
But Stephen Lloyd, Hawke’s lawyer, said that under Australia’s migration law the minister does not have to prove Djokovic was a public health risk, just that he “could”.
He said Djokovic’s anti-vax attitudes are evident from the fact that he did not get vaccinated, despite having the opportunity to do so before arriving in Australia.
He added that the perception that Djokovic was against vaccination was enough to risk inciting anti-vaccinationists in the country and that the tennis star’s blatant disregard of Covid-19 rules put his actions at risk for others to emulate and would ignore public health orders.
Tennis Australia, the national tennis association and organizer of the Australian Open tournament, said it “respects the Federal Court’s decision” regarding Djokovic’s visa.
Djokovic was replaced in the draw by Italy’s Salvatore Caruso, who meets Serbian player Miomir Kecmanović.
The ATP described the decision to uphold Djokovic’s visa annulment as “the end of a deeply regrettable series of events” and said his absence from the Australian Open was “a loss to the game”.
A long-running saga
The saga began almost two weeks ago when Djokovic’s visa was first revoked shortly after his arrival on January 5th.
Current Australian law requires all international arrivals to be vaccinated against Covid-19 – which Djokovic is not – unless they have a Therapeutic Use Exemption.
Djokovic said he felt he could step in because two independent bodies linked to Tennis Australia and the Victoria state government had given him an exemption for contracting Covid-19 in December.
The federal government argued that under its rules, previous infection with Covid-19 was not a valid reason for an exemption.
Upon arrival in Australia, Djokovic was taken to Melbourne’s Park Hotel, which is also used as a detention center for refugees, while lawyers prepared a case to have the decision overturned.
On Monday, Judge Anthony Kelly ruled that border officials had been “unreasonable” in canceling his original visa to enter Australia and ordered Djokovic released from immigration detention.
Djokovic’s visa was revoked for a second time by Hawke on Friday, but the government agreed not to deport the tennis star over the weekend before his case was completed.
Despite a final verdict in court, the events of the past two weeks are still divergent and the fallout is expected to last for days to come.
It’s unclear when Djokovic will appear in court again, after saying he’s “taking some time to rest and recover before commenting further”.
He will have a chance to break the men’s Grand Slam title record at the French Open in May, but the saga has raised questions about how unvaccinated players will compete on the tour of the season.
It also threatens to tarnish Djokovic’s incredible performance in the sport as the issue continues to prove divisive around the world.
CNN’s Wayne Sterling, Helen Regan, David Tunnicliffe and Ray Sanchez contributed to this report
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