Australian tennis star Nick Kyrgios wants the Australian Open to be canceled in an act of solidarity for Melbourne residents who have been in lockdown for a long time.
While speaking on his podcast, No Boundaries, Kyrgios stated that canceling the opening Grand Slam of the year would send a message.
“I don’t think the Aus Open should go ahead, just for the people in Melbourne — you’ve got to send a message. How long did (Melbourne) do in lockdown? 275 days or something?” said Kyrgios.
He later backtracked and made clarifications to his comments, stating that he didn’t want the tournament to be canceled but said it to stand with Melbourne citizens.
“To say that I’d want the Australian Open canceled, I think that was the sentence that got taken out of context. It’s more so for the people of Melbourne who have gone through hell and back. I think it’s been… nearly 300 days of lockdown and your freedom has been, you know, taken away from you. I don’t think it’s morally right to accept players from overseas that aren’t vaccinated to come into our country,” said the 26-year-old.
Melbourne has been under lockdown for over 250 days ever since the pandemic began. Kyrgios has revealed that he is double vaccinated but doesn’t hold it against stars like Novak Djokovic who aren’t keen on revealing their vaccine status.
The Aussie believes that the Serb has given a lot to tennis and that it is morally wrong to force anyone to get vaccinated. The 26-year-old thinks that tennis authorities must figure out other solutions to get around the problem.
Victoria Premier Daniel Andrews has not budged from his vaccine stance for the Australian Open. He wants all players competing in the tournament to be fully vaccinated, while fans in attendance will also have to be vaccinated.
Tennis Australia is rumored to be in talks with the government to bring a resolution to the vaccine issue, which could allow unvaccinated players to take part in the tournament.
A vaccine mandate at the Australian Open could result in a few unvaccinated tennis stars missing next year’s opening Grand Slam. The biggest absentee could be Djokovic, who doesn’t want to divulge details about his vaccination status.
But, a few of Serb’s rivals have confirmed their participation in the tournament. Rafael Nadal, who is tied on Grand Slams with Djokovic and Roger Federer, is preparing hard to get fit for the tournament after recovering from his injury. Russian star and World No. 2 Daniil Medvedev has also confirmed his participation in January’s tournament.
