His lawyers said Novak Djokovic was granted a vaccine exemption to enter Australia because he contracted Covid-19 last month.
In court documents published on Saturday, the Serb was reported to have tested positive on December 16, and had not had a fever or respiratory symptoms for Covid-19 in the past 72 hours.
Djokovic has been held at an immigration facility in Melbourne since Thursday morning after his visa was revoked after a scrutiny of the medical exemption he was granted to travel to the first major tennis of the year.
According to his legal team, Djokovic was also provided with a letter from Tennis Australia’s chief medical officer stating that he has been given medical exemption from the Covid-19 vaccine.
The exemption certificate is alleged to have been «submitted by an independent expert medical review panel commissioned by Tennis Australia», and that «the decision of that panel has been reviewed and endorsed by the Victorian Government’s Independent Medical Exemption Review Committee».
Djokovic’s lawyers added that he obtained an «Australian travel permit» because the authorities informed him of it [he met] Requirements to get to Australia without quarantine.”
Djokovic, a nine-time winner of the Australian Open, will have to wait for a hearing on Monday to discover his fate.
On Friday, it emerged that two other people linked to the tournament had joined Djokovic in being instructed to leave the country by the Australian Border Force.
One such Czech doubles specialist is Renata Vorakova, who played in a warm-up session in Melbourne this week but has now opted to leave Australia.
Djokovic, 34, was instructed to stay at the Melbourne Park Hotel, which is used to house asylum seekers and refugees, ahead of Monday’s hearing.
He broke his silence on Instagram saying, «Thank you to people around the world for your continued support. I can feel that and it is very much appreciated.»
His wife Jelena also took to social media to express her gratitude to the player’s fans for their support.
In her Instagram and Twitter posts, Jelena Djokovic wrote: “Thank you, dear people, all over the world for using your voice to send love to my husband.
“I take a deep breath to calm down and find gratitude (and understanding) in this moment for everything that is going on.
“The only law that we should all respect across every frontier is love and respect for another human being.
“Love and forgiveness are never wrong but a mighty force. I wish you well!”
Australian Nick Kyrgios, who has been a fierce critic of Djokovic on many things, took to Twitter to demand that his country «do better» in its treatment of the 20-times champion.
The world number 93 wrote: «Look, I definitely believe in taking action, I’ve been vaccinated because of others and for my mom’s health, but the way we’re dealing with Novak’s situation is really bad.
«Like memes and headlines, this is one of our great heroes but he’s ultimately human. Be the best.»
Djokovic’s father claimed that the world number one became a scapegoat and «steel» respectively. – PA