Novak Djokovic’s dad accused tennis bosses of trying to ‘blackmail’ his son into getting a COVID vaccine for the Australian Open

• Novak Djokovic's dad says his son is the subject of "blackmail" over his COVID vaccination status.
• Djokovic has repeatedly refused to publicly say if he is or is not vaccinated.
• If he is unvaccinated, Djokovic will be barred from playing the Australian Open early next year.

Novak Djokovic's father has claimed that tennis authorities are trying to "blackmail" his son into getting vaccinated against COVID.

The 20-time Grand Slam winner's vaccination status is currently unknown, and he has repeatedly refused to reveal whether he has been vaccinated against COVID-19.

His participation at the Australian Open, which is due to begin in January, has become increasingly uncertain in recent weeks after tournament officials confirmed all players and staff must be vaccinated if they wish to take part.

Srdjan Djokovic now claims that not only will his son not play due to vaccination rules, but also because of an element of "blackmail" in comments towards him.

"As far as vaccines and non-vaccines are concerned, it is the personal right of each of us whether we will be vaccinated or not," Djokovic told Serbian TV network TVPrva, as reported by news website b92. 

"Whether he will appear there depends on them how they will position themselves. He would want it with all his heart because he's an athlete, and we would love that too," Djokovic senior continued.

"Under these blackmails and conditions, he probably won't. I wouldn't do that. And he's my son, so you decide for yourself."

Djokovic has won the Australian Open more than any other player in history having been victorious in nine competitions, including the previous three iterations.

His vaccination status has been the major talking point ahead of the tournament in January.

Last week, the head of the tennis in Australia, Craig Tiley, predicted that Djokovic would get vaccinated so he does not miss out on the opportunity to secure a record 21st Grand Slam.

If Djokovic were to win, he would move clear of Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal as the man with the most Grand Slam wins.

"One of them will surpass the others. I don't think Novak would want to leave that to someone else," said Tiley on local radio station SEN.

In his interview, Djokovic's father also took issue with the fact that only certain vaccines are recognized in Australia.

"What is a recognized vaccine, Mr. Craig [Tiley]? Russian vaccine is not a recognized vaccine? According to our criteria, only Chinese and Russian are recognized," he said.

Australia's government currently recognizes both vaccines developed in China, the Sinovac and Sinopharm jabs, but does not accept the Russian-made Sputnik vaccine. Anyone vaccinated with Sputnik is not allowed into the country, per Australian government guidelines.