Media playback is not supported on this device Djokovic celebrates return of form
Australia’s mandatory vaccine law is “not to blackmail” Nole Djokovic, according to his Australian Sports Minister.
Djokovic, 30, pulled out of this month’s Hopman Cup with an elbow injury, citing a history of this condition.
The US and Canadian tennis federations have announced new rules which require players to have anti-doping controls completed before participation in events.
“We are not blackmailing our sportsmen,” Victorian Sports Minister Damian Drum said.
The men’s world number four pulled out of the Hopman Cup on 30 November, and says his injury could not be treated effectively in time to reach next month’s season-opening Australian Open.
Djokovic’s elbow has been in and out of trouble since the end of last year, and he will still participate in the pre-event exhibition tournament in Abu Dhabi next week.
Drum said in an interview with Melbourne radio station 2UE: “We are not giving a black-ball approach.
“We are going to do our duty of care. If we think the players and their management will say: ‘Don’t give them their anti-doping services,’ they will make the right decision.
“It’s not blackmail. It’s not trying to deprive any player of a [world-class] international competition.”
Djokovic has had six documented cases of left elbow pain since retiring during the quarter-finals of the French Open in June, missing Wimbledon and the US Open.