Novak Djokovic has
said he would be against a compulsory coronavirus vaccination if it became a
requirement for tennis players to travel to tournaments.
“Personally I’m
against vaccination. I wouldn’t like that someone forces me to get a vaccine in
order to be able to travel,” the world number one said late Sunday.
The Serbian star
was speaking from Spain, where he is in lockdown with his family, in a video
conference held on his Facebook for Orthodox Easter.
“We (players) will
have to travel. I think it will be the number one challenge,” the 32-year said.
“If it
(vaccination) will become compulsory what will happen? I will have to take a
decision,” on whether to get a vaccine or not, he said.
“This is my opinion
at the moment. Whether it will change I don’t know.”
There is currently
no vaccine for the virus that has claimed some 165,000 lives around the globe,
though labs around the world are racing to develop a treatment.
Like the rest of
the sporting world, tennis has been on pause since early March, with the ATP
and WTA Tours suspended until mid-July at the earliest and Wimbledon cancelled
for the first time since World War II.
Djokovic estimated
tournaments would not restart “before September or October”.
“The season will
officially restart when everyone will be 100 percent certain that people can
return, that there is no risk, that people are resistant to the virus and this
takes time.”
Tournaments with
travel limited to one country or a region could be possible, he said.