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No Novak Djokovic At Australian Open 2022 As World No.1 Tennis Star Loses Visa Appeal

With Novak Djokovic losing his appeal on Sunday, the Serbian will be banned in Australia for three years. The top-ranked tennis player will remain in Melbourne until he is deported.

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Novak Djokovic sits in the back of car arriving at an immigration detention hotel in Melbourne.
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Novak Djokovic’s hopes of playing at the Australian Open 2022 were dashed Sunday after a court dismissed the top-ranked tennis star’s appeal against a deportation order. (More Tennis News)  

Three Federal Court judges upheld a decision made on Friday by the immigration minister to cancel the 34-year-old Serb's visa on public interest grounds.

The decision likely means that Djokovic, who is not vaccinated against COVID-19, will remain in detention in Melbourne until he is deported. A deportation order usually also includes a three-year ban on returning to Australia.

The minister cancelled the visa on the grounds that Djokovic's presence in Australia may be a risk to the health and “good order” of the Australian public and “may be counterproductive to efforts at vaccination by others in Australia.”

Djokovic's visa was initially cancelled on January 6 at Melbourne's airport hours after he arrived to compete in the first Grand Slam of 2022. A border official cancelled his visa after deciding Djokovic didn't qualify for a medical exemption from Australia's rules for unvaccinated visitors.