Novak Djokovic Eligible for French Open After France Lifts Vaccine Passport Mandate

Novak Djokovic will be eligible to play in the 2022 French Open if he chooses to participate in the tournament. 

Per Shanna McCarriston of CBS Sports, France announced effective March 14 vaccine passports will no longer be required to enter the country. 

Djokovic, who is unvaccinated, told the BBC (h/t the Associated Press) in February he was prepared to skip the French Open and Wimbledon if France and England maintained their travel restrictions for individuals not vaccinated against COVID-19. 

Djokovic's unvaccinated status prevented him from playing at the Australian Open. He traveled to Australia for the tournament but was forced to leave the day before competition began when a three-judge panel unanimously rejected his appeal to stay on the grounds it wasn't irrational for Immigration Minister Alex Hawke to eject him because of public health concerns. 

This year's Australian Open was the first Grand Slam tournament Djokovic missed since the 2017 U.S. Open when he was dealing with an elbow injury. He won the tournament in each of the previous three years. 

Without Djokovic in the field, Rafael Nadal beat Daniil Medvedev in the men's final to win his first Australian Open title since 2009. 

Djokovic's only tournament so far this year was the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships last month. He lost to Jiri Vesely in the quarterfinals. 

Since qualifying for his first French Open in 2005, Djokovic has never missed the tournament in his career. The 34-year-old is a two-time winner at Roland Garros in 2016 and 2021. 

The 2022 French Open is scheduled to begin on May 22.