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Novak Djokovic ridiculed as he says he's 'willing' to miss Wimbledon over his Covid vaccine stance

Novak Djokovic ridiculed as he says he's 'willing' to miss Wimbledon over his Covid vaccine stance

Novak Djokovic says he's prepared to miss French Open and Wimbledon over vaccine stance

BBC News

Tennis star Novax - sorry, Novak - Djokovic has once again faced criticism online over his views on Covid vaccination, as he says missing out on contests such as Wimbledon is “the price I’m willing to pay”.

Djokovic, the world’s top men’s tennis player, made headlines last month when he was deported - or rather, Djoko-victed - from Australia because of his vaccination status.

While the sportsman claimed he had a medical exemption, the government cancelled his visa amid concerns his presence in the country could spark “civil unrest”.

However, despite being unvaccinated, Djokovic said he has “never said I’m a part of [the anti-vax] movement” and was never “against vaccination”, but added that he supported people’s right to choose.

He told BBC News’ Amol Rajan: “I have always represented and always supported the freedom to choose what you put into your own body.

“It’s really a principle of understanding what is right and what is wrong for you.”

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Yet it was the BBC’s choice of headline for the piece – ‘I’m not anti-vax but will sacrifice trophies if told to get jab’ – which caused the athlete to be mocked by users online:

The irony of a tennis player making a racket about vaccination is not lost on us.

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