After being deported from Australia in January and unable to play at the Australian Open, Novak Djokovic will be able to defend his title at SW19.
The Serbian player was unable to defend his Australian Open trophy from last year after a mayhem of events concluded with him being deported from the country. That won't happen at Wimbledon, as the event announced that unvaccinated players can attend the event.
As of now, Djokovic is still the only Top 100 player who is unvaccinated, and that hindered him significantly during the past two seasons. This means that he entered the Top 100 in the 2022 ATP Race only after his most recent participation in the Serbia Open final.
The chief executive of the All England Club, Sally Bolton, revealed that vaccination will not be a requirement for the players to compete at the 2022 Wimbledon Championships, which will not allow Russian and Belarusian athletes to compete.
"The requirements set up do not include mandatory vaccination. It will not be a condition of entry for the championships this year."
While for many, it doesn't change anything, for Djokovic, it's a very important message. The Serbian could miss three out of four Grand Slam tournaments in the 2022 season after previously missing the Australian Open, and the US Open, which is still at risk.
Now, he's sure that he will compete in at least two, as nothing seems to be preventing him from playing at the French Open. The same now applies to Wimbledon, a tournament where he had a lot of success in the past.
Djokovic won his sixth Wimbledon title last year when he beat Italian Matteo Berrettini in the final. This year's tournament will take place between June 27 and July 10, and matches will be played on the first Sunday for the first time as a permanent part of the schedule.
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