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Novak Djokovic leaves Australia after court upholds visa cancellation
![Novak Djokovic leaves Australia after court upholds visa cancellation]()
Serbian tennis player seen boarding plane to Dubai hours after decision left him ‘extremely disappointed’ Novak Djokovic leaves Australia after court upholds visa cancellation
Tennis superstar Novak Djokovic boarded a plane to leave Australia on Sunday after the Federal Court upheld a government decision to cancel his visa on the grounds that his decision not to be vaccinated against COVID-19 posed a risk to the country.
Novak Djokovic has been deported from Australia ahead of the Australian Open after the full federal court dismissed the world No 1’s bid to restore his visa.
The Serbian tennis player was seen boarding an Emirates flight from Melbourne to Dubai hours after the court rejected his challenge to the decision of Australian immigration minister, Alex Hawke, to cancel the visa. The flight left shortly after 10.30pm local time (11.30am GMT).
Hawke had cancelled the visa on Friday on the basis Djokovic’s presence in Australia might risk “civil unrest” as he is a “talisman of anti-vaccination sentiment”. And on Sunday, Chief Justice James Allsop announced the court unanimously dismissed Djokovic’s application, with costs to be paid by the tennis star.
