Novak Djokovic: Ons Jabeur 'respects' Serbian's stance on Covid-19 vaccination

Tunisia’s Ons Jabeur has admitted she respects Novak Djokovic’s decision not to be jabbed against Covid-19 but hopes he will change his stance for the good of the sport.

Africa’s leading tennis star is one of the latest to have her say on the Djokovic debacle after the Serbian made headlines in the lead up to the Australian Open.

It appeared as though the men’s world number one would be granted a medical exemption to compete at the January Grand Slam, but issues with his visa ultimately saw him deported and hit with a three-year ban from the country.

Djokovic’s vaccination status became one of the hottest topics in sporting news and sparked debates over whether the 20-time Grand Slam winner should have been able to defend his title in Melbourne.

A lot of tennis stars both past and present slammed the 34-year-old and his decision to not take the vaccine. Martina Navrátilová was one individual who made her thoughts abundantly clear, stating she “cannot defend the choice to not be vaccinated.”

Jabeur has also admitted she hopes Djokovic will have a change of heart when it comes to being jabbed but has ultimately backed the Serbian to make his own decisions.

“It’s his choice. He follows a certain diet with food and whatever he puts in his body [is up to him],” Jabeur told the BBC.

“For me, I respect what he is doing. If he’s doing it, he’s doing it fully — he knows that his health is more important. I’m not really surprised, since we know how far he took it at the Australian Open.”

Whether Djokovic will be able to compete in other Grand Slams without having the Covid-19 vaccine remains unclear. However, he has declared he would rather miss out on future tournaments than be forced to take the jab.

Jabeur has stressed that the