Novak Djokovic can’t keep away from the headlines at the moment after the star was barred from playing in the Australian Open in January this year.
The sensational saga saw the 34-year-old’s bid to enter the country ultimately end in deportation, with the eyes of the world glued to his landmark appeal.
Now though, in a remarkable double-down on his position, the world number one told the BBC in a shocking interview that not taking part in future tournaments “is the price that I'm willing to pay” for sticking to his beliefs.
This means that the player who, in the eyes of many, could be regarded as the greatest player of all time might be about to willingly step away from the top level of the game over his views on mandatory vaccination.
Why isn't Novak Djokovic vaccinated?
In the interview, the 20-time grand slam champ said: "I was never against vaccination, but I've always supported the freedom to choose what you put in your body."
Pushed on why he felt so strongly about this, he said: "Because the principles of decision-making on my body are more important than any title or anything else. I'm trying to be in tune with my body as much as I possibly can."
The world number one added he had "always been a great student of wellness, wellbeing, health, nutrition".
The star’s preferences have been clear since the early days of the pandemic. Speaking over Zoom in April 2020, he said: “Personally I am opposed to vaccination and I wouldn’t want to be forced by someone to take a vaccine in order to be able to travel.
“But if it becomes compulsory, what will happen? I will have to make a decision. I have my own thoughts about the matter and whether those thoughts will change at some point, I don’t know.”
Two years later and Djokovic’s decision would see him detained by border forces in a very public battle to make it to the tournament.
The saga has come at a pivotal time for the tennis history books, which see the current crop of elite players collectively winning more grand slams than any other players from past generations.
Before the Australian Open, Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer all had 20 grand slams to their names as they battled it out to become the best of their cohort and as a result, probably, the best of all time.
Nadal’s victory at the tournament sees him in ahead into the virgin snow of 21 wins, ground never before broken by a professional tennis player.
Now though, following his shock statement, Djokovic looks at risk of letting his rivals sail past him, as they enter into tournaments uncontested by the Serb.
Multiple paths remain open. Djokovic could get the vaccine, something he says he is still keeping his mind open about. The rules regarding vaccine mandates in grand slam nations could change. Or, he could fall behind his rivals to the point there is no coming back - only time will tell which one wins out.
What is Novak Djokovic's net worth?
Djokovic is about as a big a sporting star as is possible and his enormous net worth - which is reported by CelebrityNetWorth to be over £160 million - certainly reflects this.
Tennis is a big-money game - rife with lucrative sponsorship deals and enormous personal fame - and tournament wins can see athletes taking home seven-figure sums.
When you’re as good as Djokovic, his enormous wealth starts to make a little more sense.
What languages does Novak Djokovic speak?
The Serbian’s talent doesn’t stop at the edge of the court, however. Sportskeeda reports that he can also speak a mind-boggling 11 languages.
While not every language may be perfectly fluent, the polyglot is believed to be competent in Serbian, French, English, Arabic, Italian, German, Japanese, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish and Chinese.
