Tennis
Djokovic happy to be able to play tennis without a vaccine
(Dubai) Novak Djokovic said on Thursday he was “rejoicing” to return to the tennis courts in Dubai soon, after the fiasco of the Australian Open, a country from which he had been expelled for refusing to be vaccinated against COVID-19.
“I look forward to returning to play on Monday […] I miss tennis after everything that’s happened,” the world number 1 told reporters on Thursday during a tour of his country’s Serbia pavilion at the World Expo in Dubai.
His refusal to be vaccinated caused him to miss the Australian Open in January, making international headlines and allowing the Spaniard Rafael Nadal to raise the record for Grand Slam titles for men to 21, one better than the Serb and Roger Federer.
“Nole” is participating in the Dubai ATP 500 tournament to be held from Monday in the wealthy Gulf emirate, where the COVID-19 vaccine is not mandatory. He will play his first game of the season on Monday, in a competition in which Briton Andy Murray also participates.
In an interview with the British television channel BBC, he said he was “ready to pay the price” for his convictions against the vaccine by giving up the Roland-Garros and Wimbledon tournaments if necessary.
“The principles that drive decision-making about my body are more important than a title or anything,” he said in the interview on Tuesday.
The prospect of participation in Roland-Garros and Wimbledon is getting closer, with France and the United Kingdom set to ease health restrictions. However, vaccination is still required to participate in the US Open in the United States.
Two Masters 1000 are also scheduled in the United States: Indian Wells from March 7 to 20, where he is on the list of participants, and Miami from March 21 to April 3.
“Honor”
Expelled from Australia, Novak Djokovic had stopped over in Dubai after failing to convince the Australian courts to accept his appeal against the cancellation of his visa by the government, on the eve of the opening of the Australian Open where he dreamed of a 21and record Grand Slam title.
This expulsion came to conclude a long showdown between the player who has never hidden his skepticism against vaccines and the Australian authorities who claimed that his presence on the island-continent could blow on the embers of the antivax movement.
In Dubai on Thursday, Novak Djokovic was received with honors by officials of the Serbian pavilion at the World Expo. The 34-year-old sportsman very solemnly wrote a note on a guestbook.
“Thank you for receiving me in this way and presenting all that Serbia has best (at the Serbian pavilion), it’s an honor to be part of it,” Novak Djokovic told these Serbian officials.
The Australian soap opera which has gone far beyond the borders of sport and tarnished the image of the world No.1, but it retains great popularity in Serbia.
The Serbian government and part of the population had strongly denounced what they considered to be Canberra’s relentlessness against their national hero.
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Sophia Jhon is a sports journalist and author. He has worked as a news editor for Sportish and is now a sport columnist for the same publication. Alberta’s professional interests lie largely in sports news, with an emphasis on English football. He has also written articles on other sporting topics.
Four representatives from Ukraine were included in the qualification list Australian Open 2026.
Yulia Starodubtseva (WTA 113), Angelina Kalinina (WTA 127), Daria Snigur (WTA 153) and Vitaly Sachko (ATP 153) will compete for the Australian Open main draws.
The best moments of tennis matches LIVE on Telegram channel Tennis on Sport.ua
Major qualifiers in Melbourne will be held from January 12-17.
The place at the heart of the Australian Open 2026 is guaranteed by four Ukrainian tennis players: Elina Svitolina, Marta Kostyuk, Dayana Yastremskaya and Alexandra Oleynikova.
Home page for Australian Open 2026 qualifiers (women)
Home page for Australian Open 2026 qualifiers (men)
Source: Sport UA
I am a sports journalist who has worked in print and online. I have authored articles for a sports website and have covered sports news for over 6 years.
Ukraine’s first racket Elina Svitolina (WTA 14) became the “Opening Week” participant of the Australian Open 2026.
On January 14, 2026, the Ukrainian will play an exhibition match against Amanda Anisimova (USA, WTA 4) at the tournament’s main stadium, Rod Laver Arena.
The meeting will be held in the format of two standard sets as the deciding game and a super tiebreak up to 10 points.
There will also be four more exhibition matches: Elena Rybakina – Zheng Qingwen, Alexander Zverev – Lorenzo Musetti, Carlos Alcaraz – Alex de Minaur, Jannik Sinner – Felix Auger-Aliassime.
After the match between Svitolina and Anisimova, Rod Laver Arena will host the AO 1 Point Slam tournament, where tennis stars Iga Swiatek, Jannik Sinner, Carlos Alcaraz, Coco Gauff, Naomi Osaka, Daniil Medvedev, Zheng Qingwen, Felix Auger-Aliassime and Jasmine Paolini will compete against amateurs.
Source: Sport UA
I am a sports journalist who has worked in print and online. I have authored articles for a sports website and have covered sports news for over 6 years.
Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) announced the list of all award winners for the 2025 season.
World number one Arina Sabalenka was chosen as the best tennis player of the year. Hendrik Vleshouwers, coach of American Amanda Anisimova, received the best coach award.
Anisimova received the Progress of the Year award, while Victoria Mboko received the Newcomer of the Year award. Katerina Sinyakova / Taylor Townsend couple was chosen as the best duet of the season.
WTA Awards 2025. All award winners
- The best tennis player of the season – Aryna Sabalenka
- Best Duo of the Year – Katerina Sinyakova / Taylor Townsend
- Progress of the Year – Amanda Anisimova
- Rookie of the Year – Victoria Mboko
- Comeback of the Year – Belinda Bencic
- Diamond Aces (promoting tennis both on and off the court) – Coco Gauff
- Peachy Kellmeier Award (for contributions to WTA players) – Gabriela Dabrowski
- Karen Kranzke Sportsmanship Award – Jessica Pegula
- Georgina Clarke Mother of the Year Award (awarded to retired female tennis players) – Nicole Pratt (Australian coach)
- Coach of the Year – Hendrik Vleshouwers (Amanda Anisimova’s coach)
- Pet of the Year (singles) – Zheng Qingwen
- Favorites of the year in pairs – Sara Errani and Jasmine Paolini
- Shot of the year – Carolina Muchova (vs. Clara Towson in WTA 1000 semi-final in Dubai)
- Match of the year – Coco Gauff vs. Zheng Qingwen (WTA 1000 semi-final in Rome – 7:6 (7:3), 4:6, 7:6 (7:4))
VIDEO. Shot of the year from Carolina Muchova
This Thursday I’m offering you a tweener throwback 🤩
Only @karomuchova7 things 🙂↕️#ThrowbackThursday pic.twitter.com/TUfY7Q02Rh
— wta (@WTA) November 13, 2025
VIDEO. Match of the year from Coco Gauff and Zheng Qingwen in Rome
Source: Sport UA
I am a sports journalist who has worked in print and online. I have authored articles for a sports website and have covered sports news for over 6 years.
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