Novak Djokovic was aiming to win his 21st Grand Slam
Tennis star Novak Djokovic has been ordered to leave Australia.
He was granted a medical exemption to compete in the Australian Open - as organisers said all entrants must be fully vaccinated.
The Serbian star has not disclosed his vaccination status, or what exemption he had provided to compete.
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He posted on Instagram earlier this week that he was granted an exemption to compete.
However this was met with backlash - as Australians have faced harsh COVID-19 restrictions.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison threatened yesterday that Djokovic would be on the 'first plane home' if he didn't provide sufficient proof of a medical exemption.
The situation escalated yesterday, as he was stopped by Australian Border Forces due to a mishap over his visa.
It was reported he had applied for the wrong sub-visa, which didn't cover his exemption.
The 20-time Grand Slam champion was questioned on arrival for several hours until around 5am local time in Melbourne.
However it later emerged that Djokovic's visa was revoked.
Mr Djokovic’s visa has been cancelled. Rules are rules, especially when it comes to our borders. No one is above these rules. Our strong border policies have been critical to Australia having one of the lowest death rates in the world from COVID, we are continuing to be vigilant.
— Scott Morrison (@ScottMorrisonMP) January 5, 2022
However, Djokovic's lawyers have launched an urgent appeal with the courts, which is expected to be heard today.
The 34-year-old was aiming to win his 10th Australian Open title when the tournament starts on January 17th.
A win in Melbourne would have also seen him overtake Roger Federer and Rafa Nadal on the all-time Grand Slam wins list - with 21.
