Unvaccinated players cannot participate in 2022 Australian Open

Novak Djokovic's hopes of winning the Australian Open once more have potentially been diminished as it has been confirmed that unvaccinated players cannot participate in the 2022 edition of the tournament.

Djokovic who has yet to reveal his vaccination status calling it a freedom of choice but has said previously that he hoped it wouldn't be made mandatory to play tournaments.

But at the 2022 launch, Craig Tiley who is the tournament director confirmed this was the case with his appearance on Channel 9's Today Show acting as a precursor to that where he said it was the 'right thing to do' but that they hope to see Novak Djokovic and they are expecting him.

"Our intention with the Australian Open is to bring Australia back in a big way and it's going to be an exciting summer. We're expecting Novak (Djokovic) to come, there's obviously a lot of speculation around vaccinations," said Tiley on Channel 9's Today Show.

"The good news is that most of the players on both the men's and women's side are fully vaccinated and Novak as previously said is a private issue for him. But he's always said he's had great success here in Melbourne and he's always said that the Australian Open is the event that puts the wind in his sails. So I hope we get to see Novak."

"When the premier announced several weeks ago that in order to participate in the Australian Open you will need to be fully vaccinated. We immediately communicated that to the playing group, it's the one direction you take to ensure everyone's safety.

"All the playing group understands it, all our patrons will need be vaccinated, all our staff working the Australian Open need to be vaccinated. When we're in a state where 90% of the population fully vaccinated, it's the right thing to do."

This was then confirmed further during the launch when Tiley said when asked about Djokovic. "He knows he has to be vaccinated to be able to play."