Novak Djokovic Could Miss French Open After France Rules All Players Must Be Vaccinated

Novak Djokovic's vaccine headache has been further compounded after France made a new rule about their upcoming Grand Slam.

Organisers of the famous clay court rumble have declared that all players wanting to compete in the 2022 tournament will have to be vaccinated against the coronavirus.

The rule applies to 'everyone, to volunteers and to elite sportspeople, including those coming from abroad, until further notice'.

"As far as Roland Garros is concerned, it's in May," the French ministry said. "The situation may change between now and then and we hope it'll be more favourable. So we'll see but clearly there's no exemption."

It's a massive blow to Novak Djokovic, who was hoping the Australian Open would be his chance to leapfrog Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer.

The three legends are all tied with having the most Grand Slam titles under their belt at 20.

The Serbian could have made it 21 with this month's Australian Open, however he was kicked out of the country because he hadn't been vaccinated against coronavirus.

A lengthy court battle ensued and he was sent packing over the weekend back to Europe.

He would have obviously been looking forward to the French Open in May, however he might be prevented from competing in that tournament if the rules aren't changed by then.

Djokovic's next competition appears to be the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships, which is due to get underway in late February.

It's unclear whether he'll be able to play in Wimbledon as unvaccinated people are currently permitted to enter the UK, however they must isolate for 10 days.

The English Grand Slam hasn't yet released rules around whether players will have to have received the jab in order to play.

The year's final Grand Slam, The US Open, could also shut Djokovic out from playing as the tournament is subjected to rules set by the New York City Department of Health.

Unvaccinated people are also unable to enter the US at the moment.

Djokovic's team tried to argue against Australian lawyers that he had contracted coronavirus in December last year and that would have provided him the antibodies necessary to give him protection while Down Under.

While Tennis Australia and the Victorian state government allowed him to come, the federal government re-cancelled his visa because they were worried his presence would stoke anti-vaxx sentiments in Australia.