Tennis Australia have released a statement underlining their "deep regret" over the explosive Novak Djokovic saga which dominated the build-up to the Australian Open.
Despite Djokovic not being vaccinated against Covid-19, the organisation controversially opted to award the world no 1 a medical exemption to compete in the tournament, on the basis he had tested positive for the virus in December.
That prompted a public backlash down under, and the saga exacerbated further when the Serbian was detained by border force officials upon his arrival at Melbourne Airport.
His lawyers later won an appeal against him being deported only for immigration minister Alex Hawke to revoke his visa second time, after it emerged the 34-year-old had submitted false information on his immigration forms and flaunted isolation rules whilst positive for Covid.
A second court appeal subsequently failed, with Djokovic now back home in Serbia having flown out of Australia on Sunday night.
Now on behalf of Chairman Jayne Hrdlicka, Tennis Australia have stated: "As the Australian tennis family, we recognise that recent events have been a significant distraction for everyone, and we deeply regret the impact this had on all players.
"There are always lessons to learn, and we will review all aspects of our preparation and implementation to inform our planning — as we do every year. That process always starts once the Australian Open champions have lifted their trophies."
Despite the Federal Government's decision clearly at odds with the authority, they said they accepted the decision and were now focused on delivering a high-quality tournament, after matches got underway on Monday.
"We would like to make clear from the outset that we respect the decision of the Immigration Minister and the finding of the Federal Court of Australia over the weekend," they said.
"Australia has a strong and proud tennis tradition, and it has been fantastic to see the crowds out cheering for the world's best players in the lead up to and over the opening days of the Australian Open.
"We, like the players, and all tennis fans here and around the world, are keen for the focus to now be on the game we are all so passionate about. We are looking forward to a brilliant two weeks of tennis ahead."
They added the tournament is a "showcase" of Melbourne and Australia, and said an extreme amount of work had gone in to ensure the event when ahead in a Covid-safe environment.
