Tennis 2022

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This looks like a big goof-up by Tennis Australia tbh. There are documents out there from November which prove that they were explicitly told that a COVID-19 infection in the last six months does not constitute grounds to avail a medical exemption and it looks like they still let Novak in? Assuming an infection in the last six months is what he used to try and enter Australia? Another explanation could be that he tried to use other medical grounds to gain an exemption which was not acceptable for Border Forces.
 
wr8_utd said:
He'd probably have not had his visa rejected and AO would have quietly explained that he met some medical exemptions which no one would have probably cared about. He really did bring about a lot of attention to himself with that post.
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Not sure they would have gotten away with it so easily as there was already a lot of attention regarding whether he was going to play prior to his post. I may be wrong but most if not all the other players have already arrived in Australia so it was pretty obvious he was looking for a medical exemption that took him longer than the other exempted players to receive.
 
groovyalbert said:
How comes Australia still has such strict rules on this? Do you guys have a really low vaccine uptake or something? Surely all players are going to be tested everyday/be pretty isolated.

Whilst I can't stand Novak and his stupid vaccine stance, Australia does seem on another level altogether in term of Covid policing.
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Apparently 90% of Aussies 16 and over have taken the vaccine.
 
crappycraperson said:
How can a state issue visa to someone to enter the country? It has to be given by federal/central authorities. If players with same reason for exemption as him have already entered then I can not imagine him not winning the case.
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There was news a few hours ago that the Federal Government was also reviewing the cases of others that received exemptions to play. So they're not confirmed to be allowed to stay at this stage either. Although I haven't seen anything about where/if they're being held or anything like that.
 
BeforeKeanetherewasRobson said:
Apparently 90% of Aussies 16 and over have taken the vaccine.
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For real? Then how comes their policies on this are the same as when there wasn't even a vaccine to distribute?

I'm by no means saying that other governments have done better/saying there's an obvious solution/stance, but that seems very heavy handed. Is their healthcare system in a position where it could be relatively easily overrun by an influx of admissions?
 
groovyalbert said:
For real? Then how comes their policies on this are the same as when there wasn't even a vaccine to distribute?

I'm by no means saying that other governments have done better/saying there's an obvious solution/stance, but that seems very heavy handed. Is their healthcare system in a position where it could be relatively easily overrun by an influx of admissions?
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Because that is adults only, so a much lower percentage of the whole population;and because we were so slow to get going we have a much lower rate of 3rd shots so far. Plus we have a very low tolerace for dead Australians.
 
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Wibble said:
Because that is adults only and because we were so slowxto get going we have a much lower rate of 3rd shots. Plus we have a very low tolerace for dead Australians.
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There's a good chance that many - myself included - have probably become somewhat numb to the mortality figures, and what I consider acceptable now would almost certainly shock the March 2020 version of me.

But that said, surely there has to be a point where you come out of this? 100% vaccination rate is impossible and some natural immunity from circulation of the virus itself is not a bad thing in the long run. Eventually you're going to have to open up again, and there will be an inevitable wave of cases that follow irregardless of vaccination status. Doing so with a variant which doesn't appear to be as severe as previous iterations may not be the worst thing.
 
ZDwyr said:
There was news a few hours ago that the Federal Government was also reviewing the cases of others that received exemptions to play. So they're not confirmed to be allowed to stay at this stage either. Although I haven't seen anything about where/if they're being held or anything like that.
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Yes, they are investigating the same but deporting them now after letting them in is going to raise questions over why their exemption was not reviewed during the entry. Personally I believe Tennis Oz got some verbal confirmation from authorities that they will let this fly but given the public backlash everyone has now backtracked and trying to make the other side as scapegoat.
 
I for one am outraged. Why are they not exempting him from rules that apply to everyone? Don't they know he's rich? Rules are for paupers.
 
KirkDuyt said:
I for one am outraged. Why are they not exempting him from rules that apply to everyone? Don't they know he's rich? Rules are for paupers.
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Rules. Always obey the rules, because our elected leaders are geniuses.
 
groovyalbert said:
Eventually you're going to have to open up again, and there will be an inevitable wave of cases that follow irregardless of vaccination status. Doing so with a variant which doesn't appear to be as severe as previous iterations
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Well, better they don't allow the unvaccinated in then. Better be safe than sorry.
I have zero issues with any country taking this stance.
 
saivet said:
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Yup. What I was saying earlier. This seems like a goof-up from Tennis Australia and Tiley when they were clearly informed that prior infection is not grounds for infection. Ofcourse we are running on the assumption here that this is what Novak used to apply for exemption.
 
saivet said:
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Which suggests Border/Govt did right thing and TA were/are at fault?

Poor Djokovic. He did everything right during a pandemic to play a sporting event…. ignored the science, caught Covid (at least twice because he got it last Summer at the inaugural ‘Novaxx Tennis Tournament‘), told TA “I’ve had Covid recently, let me in” only to find out that Australian officials don’t see that as a reason to be let in (to a country with high vaccination/low mortality/high restriction rates).

It’s always the little man that suffers….
 
“In some way, I feel sorry for him but he knew the conditions months ago,” Nadal said after making a successful comeback to action with a straight-sets win at the Melbourne Summer Set. “I don’t encourage nobody. Everyone has to do what they feel is good for them but there are rules and without the vaccine there can be some troubles. He’s free to take his own position, but then there are consequences.

“Of course what’s happening is not good for Novak, in my opinion,” the Spaniard added. “[But] if you are vaccinated, you can play in the Australian Open. We have been going through very challenging [time]. A lot of families have been suffering in the last three years. It’s normal that people here in Australia get very frustrated with the case because they have been going through all of very hard times.

“A lot of people were not able to come back home, so from my point of view I believe in what the people who know about medicine say. If the people say we need to get vaccinated, we need to get the vaccine. If you do this, you don’t have any problem to play here.”
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Rafa speaking sense here.
 
groovyalbert said:
There's a good chance that many - myself included - have probably become somewhat numb to the mortality figures, and what I consider acceptable now would almost certainly shock the March 2020 version of me.

But that said, surely there has to be a point where you come out of this? 100% vaccination rate is impossible and some natural immunity from circulation of the virus itself is not a bad thing in the long run. Eventually you're going to have to open up again, and there will be an inevitable wave of cases that follow irregardless of vaccination status. Doing so with a variant which doesn't appear to be as severe as previous iterations may not be the worst thing.
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The ACT have over 100% of adults vaccinated (presumably some adults moved to thevACT after the last census).

We are opening up again (far to fast imo) and we have gone from under 2000 cases a day to over 70,000 cases in a few weeks (likely double that due to testing being overwhelmed).

We are also slow to get the third shot because our vaccine strollout started so late due to #scottyfrommarketing being an incompetent cockwomble.
 
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Tennis Australia claimed on Thursday that other Australian Open participants have been allowed into the country after contracting COVID in the past six months, using the same exemption that Djokovic applied for.
This prompted Border Force to launch investigations into the other player and official. Federal government sources said the two others might also fall foul of the rules, but said every case was different, and they may have other valid medical reasons for not being vaccinated.

Home Affairs Minister Karen Andrews on Thursday confirmed Border Force was now investigating the allegations and didn’t rule out more players being sent back home.
“I’m aware of those allegations, and I can assure you that the Australian Border Force is investigating that now,” Ms Andrews told 2GB. “ABF needs the opportunity to be able to conduct its investigation. But if the evidence is not there, then they will take the appropriate action.”
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Looks like the others will also be in trouble now if they've used past infection as their grounds for entry.
 
wr8_utd said:
Yup. What I was saying earlier. This seems like a goof-up from Tennis Australia and Tiley when they were clearly informed that prior infection is not grounds for infection. Ofcourse we are running on the assumption here that this is what Novak used to apply for exemption.
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Tennis Australia set rules for entry to the competition, Victoria set rules for entry to the state. The Federal government control our borders and he wasn't able to prove he had a valid exemption as claimed.

The best bit is that we either deport an antivaxx covidiot or the court allows him to play which a) humiliates #scottyfrommarketing and b) gives us the opportunity to boycott the AO and/or abuse Djokovich every time he plays.

Win, win , win imo.
 
Wibble said:
Tennis Australia set rules for entry to the competition, Victoria set rules for entry to the state. The Federal government control our borders and he wasn't able to prove he had a valid exemption as claimed.

The best bit is that we either deport an antivaxx covidiot or the court allows him to play which a) humiliates #scottyfrommarketing and b) gives us the opportunity to boycott the AO and/or abuse Djokovich every time he plays.

Win, win , win imo.
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As loved as he is usually at the AO, I think this will most definitely happen if he ends up getting permission to play.
 
wr8_utd said:
As loved as he is usually at the AO, I think this will most definitely happen if he ends up getting permission to play.
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I agree. It will rub some people the wrong way, the atmosphere in matches will be more tempestuous than anything we've seen recently.
 
Thinking about it, as Djokovic isn’t infected right now, is the danger that he might first get infected in Melbourne, by an Australian, and then pass it on to another Australian?
 
Wibble said:
The ACT have over 100% of adults vaccinated (presumably some adults moved to thevACT after the last census).

We are opening up again (far to fast imo) and we have gone from under 2000 cases a day to over 70,000 cases in a few weeks (likely double that due to testing being overwhelmed).

We are also slow to get the third shot because our vaccine strollout started so late due to #scottyfrommarketing being an incompetent cockwomble.
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Yeah, I presume third shot would be potentially more important in your case regarding Omicron given the lack of natural antibodies you guys have due to the absence of previous variations.

How are your hospital numbers at the moment with the new cases? Even when you're all boosted and open up, you'll probably still get a load of new cases, but if they're not severe then that's a win/the best most can realistically hope for without maintaining a very hard-line/invasive approach. Thanks for the info by the way!

Wibble said:
Tennis Australia set rules for entry to the competition, Victoria set rules for entry to the state. The Federal government control our borders and he wasn't able to prove he had a valid exemption as claimed.

The best bit is that we either deport an antivaxx covidiot or the court allows him to play which a) humiliates #scottyfrommarketing and b) gives us the opportunity to boycott the AO and/or abuse Djokovich every time he plays.

Win, win , win imo.
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I think this is now pretty much guaranteed whenever he next plays in Australia, be it this year or in the future.
 
Why is there still so much confusion around this.

Its fairly simple as far as I see.

He satisfied the requirement of the AO organizers to enter their competition.
He didn't satisfy the requirements of the Federal Government to enter the country.

Two entirely different things.

Its all on him. It is his responsibility (as it is for all of us) to figure out what he needs to do to be able to enter a country. More so during a pandemic.
 
groovyalbert said:
Yeah, I presume third shot would be potentially more important in your case regarding Omicron given the lack of natural antibodies you guys have due to the absence of previous variations.

How are your hospital numbers at the moment with the new cases? Even when you're all boosted and open up, you'll probably still get a load of new cases, but if they're not severe then that's a win/the best most can realistically hope for without maintaining a very hard-line/invasive approach. Thanks for the info by the way!
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NSW and Victorua are beginning to struggle partly due to hospitalisations and partly due to isolating medical staff. PCR testing is close to collapse and both states will probably have to stop all non-emergency procedures soon. If infections don't peak soon things could get very ugly.
 
Rooney24 said:
Why is there still so much confusion around this.

Its fairly simple as far as I see.

He satisfied the requirement of the AO organizers to enter their competition.
He didn't satisfy the requirements of the Federal Government to enter the country.

Two entirely different things.

Its all on him. It is his responsibility (as it is for all of us) to figure out what he needs to do to be able to enter a country. More so during a pandemic.
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I agree it’s pretty simple. Unless Djokovic actually had all required documentation but was then asked to provide more? I don’t understand how he could have boarded to plane to Melbourne in the first place if he didn’t have all necessary papers in order? I wouldn’t be able to fly to fecking Madrid with RyanAir if I weren’t able to provide all documents. They wouldn’t even let me board the plane, right? So how the hell was he able to even be on that flight?!
 
Mihajlovic said:
Thinking about it, as Djokovic isn’t infected right now, is the danger that he might first get infected in Melbourne, by an Australian, and then pass it on to another Australian?
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How do.you know that he isn't currently infected?

Not that it matters as being vaccinated is the requirement.
 
Mihajlovic said:
I agree it’s pretty simple. Unless Djokovic actually had all required documentation but was then asked to provide more? I don’t understand how he could have boarded to plane to Melbourne in the first place if he didn’t have all necessary papers in order? I wouldn’t be able to fly to fecking Madrid with RyanAir if I weren’t able to provide all documents. They wouldn’t even let me board the plane, right? So how the hell was he able to even be on that flight?!
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He had a visa but was unable to.provide the neccesary paperwork that he claimed that he had to back up.his exemption from being vaccinated prior to entry, so.the visa was cancelled.

If he had boarded a commercial flight they may well not have let him fly but I'm guessing they pilot of his own private jet wasn't much of a stikler for paperwork
 
Mihajlovic said:
I agree it’s pretty simple. Unless Djokovic actually had all required documentation but was then asked to provide more? I don’t understand how he could have boarded to plane to Melbourne in the first place if he didn’t have all necessary papers in order? I wouldn’t be able to fly to fecking Madrid with RyanAir if I weren’t able to provide all documents. They wouldn’t even let me board the plane, right? So how the hell was he able to even be on that flight?!
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I don’t know when I used to work in Canada they didn’t care about any visas in order to get on the plane, it was a matter for immigration in the destination country
 
Wibble said:
.
How do.you know that he isn't currently infected?

Not that it matters as being vaccinated is the requirement.
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No idea, I’m assuming he’d have to provide a negative PCR test that’s been done pre-departure, and probably they’d be checking if he’s showing any symptoms once he’s landed?
 
Snowjoe said:
I don’t know when I used to work in Canada they didn’t care about any visas in order to get on the plane, it was a matter for immigration in the destination country
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Exactly. In Australia they do the Visa checks on arrival. Not pre-departure. so if you fly the whole way to Australia and dont have your shit in order, its on you.
 
Wibble said:
He had a visa but was unable to.provide the neccesary paperwork that he claimed that he had to back up.his exemption from being vaccinated prior to entry, so.the visa was cancelled.

If he had boarded a commercial flight they may well not have let him fly but I'm guessing they pilot of his own private jet wasn't much of a stikler for paperwork
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Wait, I thought the necessary paperwork was the confirmation of the exemption that was already granted by the two independent medical panels appointed by the Victoria department of health?!
 
Rooney24 said:
Exactly. In Australia they do the Visa checks on arrival. Not pre-departure. so if you fly the whole way to Australia and dont have your shit in order, its on you.
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Oh I didn’t know that. So I could literally book a flight from London to Melbourne, stop over at Zürich and Singapore, and be able to board the plane each time without anyone ever checking if I even have a visa?
 
Hang on, is the Australian Open going to be held with capacity crowds, all while the country is in the midst of another surge? Is that really wise?
 
So from here on Novak only has Roland Garros and Wimbledon to play? US doesn't allow the unvaccinated in either.
 
Mihajlovic said:
Wait, I thought the necessary paperwork was the confirmation of the exemption that was already granted by the two independent medical panels appointed by the Victoria department of health?!
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The way it's been worded is that the medical panels granted a visa based on a medical exemption, but not necessarily that all the paperwork was shown as that would be a job for border checks. It's a bit of a moot point anyway as the Victoria commission are independent from the federal side of things and it's the latter who allow people into the country.

It does seem a bit of a logistical mess though, but that is on the traveller to make sure that they have everything they need at the point of entry. I was nervous when going to Australia on a business visa as when checking what I needed to do there were so many people saying they had got turned away at entry despite thinking they were fine having got the visa. In the end I was through in about 1 minute, but you definitely have to be careful.
 
Camilo said:
Rules. Always obey the rules, because our elected leaders are geniuses.
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I find the intellect of our elected leaders surprisingly high given the astounding stupidity of the average voter.

Personally I obey most rules because I try not to be a selfish cnut, but each to their own.

I would love to see Novak being a rebel and run through airport security to try and get in anyway, mind.
 
It's a battle of principles. Djokovic has his own, which I respect. Australia also have their own, which must be respected.

The only way that one party does not come out looking like a loser is that Djokovic stays home and prepares for the French Open.
 
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