Australian Open tournament director Craig Tiley said players applying for a medical exemption to participate in the Grand Slam without being vaccinated against Covid-19 will have their case reviewed by an independent three-person panel. Tennis Australia said the panel would consist of doctors from the fields of immunology, infectious disease and general practice and that the move had been agreed in conjunction with the Victoria Department of Health. Tiley had previously said all players must be inoculated against Covid-19, with the move throwing the involvement of defending champion Novak Djokovic into doubt as the world number one has yet to disclose his vaccination status.
