Unvaccinated Novak Djokovic can compete at Wimbledon

Not being vaccinated won't prevent Novak Djokovic from competing at Wimbledon.

The tennis star will be able to compete in the tournament this year because being vaccinated against COVID-19 "will not be a condition of entry," said All England Club chief executive Sally Bolton, The Associated Press reports. Bolton added that vaccination will only be "encouraged."

Djokovic wasn't able to compete in the Australian Open in January after the country revoked his visa and deported him because he refused to get vaccinated against COVID-19. In February, he said if being unvaccinated meant he would miss competitions like the upcoming French Open, then that's "the price that I'm willing to pay." He couldn't compete at Indian Wells or the Miami Open due to CDC travel regulations.

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But according to Axios, in addition to being good to go for Wimbledon, Djokovic looks likely to be able to play in May's French Open because France will no longer require travelers to be vaccinated. Djokovic was the champion at ​​Wimbledon last year, defeating Matteo Berrettini in the final.

Though vaccines aren't required for Wimbledon, it was previously announced that Russian players won't be allowed to compete in the tournament amid the war in Ukraine, a decision Djokovic slammed as "crazy." The tournament begins on June 27.