Novak Djokovic is set to defend his Australian Open crown later this month despite having not had a COVID-19 vaccination, after receiving a medical exemption.
The 34-year-old, nine-time time winner at Melbourne Park will be allowed to begin his quest for a fourth-straight title in Victoria even though the Serbian is yet to receive a single dose of the coronavirus vaccine.
With the 110th edition of the tournament beginning on January 17, Djokovic has spent the Christmas break with his family and is set to travel to Australia in the coming days.
In news confirmed by Tennis Australia on Tuesday, chief Craig Tiley said: "Djokovic was granted dispensation after a rigorous review process involving two separate independent panels of medical experts.
"Fair and independent protocols were established for assessing medical exemption applications that will enable us to ensure Australian Open 2022 is safe and enjoyable for everyone."
Tiley concluded: "Central to this process was that the decisions were made by independent medical experts and that every applicant was given due consideration."
As the pandemic begins to hit Australia in greater numbers than ever before, all players and staff at this year's tournament must be vaccinated or given exemption from an expert independent medical panel.
Djokovic has now fallen into that category.
Applications for medical exemptions are being assessed anonymously by two separate panels, with inflammatory cardiac illness or other acute conditions listed as valid reasons.
The decision is likely to court further controversy for Djokovic, who has openly stated his choice not to have the vaccine in the past.
It also raises the further possibility that Djokovic could have recently tested positive for the virus, which would allow him to defer taking the vaccine also.
Djokovic had recently pulled out of the Serbia team for the ATP Cup in Sydney, which had raised significant doubts over his participation.
With Roger Federer again missing the tournament through injury, both he and Rafael Nadal are in a three-way tie with the Swiss on 20 majors in the all-time honours list.
Beaten by Daniil Medvedev in last September's US Open final, Djokovic was denied the chance to become only the third man to win the Calendar Grand Slam.
Should he win a 10th Australian Open title, Djokovic will set a new record.