Aussie gov’t official confirms vaccine mandate for Australian Open

By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña

It seems like the 2022 Australian Open will require participating players to be vaccinated.

Victoria, the state where the Australian Open takes place, has introduced a new vaccine mandate for all professional athletes.

Victoria sports minister Martin Pakula confirmed the development regarding their newest vaccine mandate but is yet to clarify whether it will cover Australian pro athletes or overseas athletes.

“If I was an ATP or WTA player, I’d be getting vaccinated. That will give them the best opportunity to play in the Australian Open with the more minimal restrictions that might be in place for those people,” Pakula told a local radio station SEN.

Although both the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) and the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) are urging all the players to receive their COVID-19 vaccines for a safer playing environment, some members are still uncertain and shared their reservations including world no. 1 Novak Djokovic of the men’s tennis.

Up to this date, not a single Grand Slam tournament has ruled out any unvaccinated player from joining the tournament and if the Australian Open will strictly adopt Victoria’s mandate, then they will be the first to impose such a ruling.

“As for the rules that might apply around the Australian Open, specifically, we’re in discussions with Tennis Australia and the department of health about that,” Pakula added.