Novak Djokovic Is Still Being Booed Over His Campaign Against Mandatory Vaccines

Tennis legend Novak Djokovic is still being booed by a small section of fans at major tournaments, with speculation that part of it is driven by his stance against the mandatory COVID vaccine stretching back years.

The seven-time Wimbledon champion accused the Centre Court crowd of “crossing the line” and disrespecting him after he beat Dane Holger Rune in three straight sets last night.

The crowd repeatedly chanted “Rune” throughout the match, which Djokovic claimed was an attempt to antagonize him because the word sounds like “boo!”

“To all the fans that have had respect and stayed here tonight, I thank you from the bottom of my heart and I appreciate it,” said Djokovic.

“And to all those people that have chosen to disrespect the player – in this case me – have a goooooooood night,” he joked.

When a BBC interviewer claimed the crowd were merely chanting Rune’s name and that it was not a dig at Djokovic, the Serb refused to accept it.

“They were. They were. I am not accepting it. No, no, no. I know they were cheering for Rune but that’s an excuse to also boo,” he said.

“Listen, I have been on the tour for more than 20 years. I know all the tricks. I focus on the respectful people that pay for the ticket, and love tennis and appreciate the players. I played in much more hostile environments, trust me – you guys can’t touch me,” he added.

“All the true tennis fans respect the players. Of course you will support one player over another and they have freedom to choose who they back. If someone steps over the line, I react and after the match I said what I said,” Djokovic said at a post-match press conference.

Respondents on X asserted that Covidians are still mad at Djokovic for refusing to take the jab and his vocal campaign against it being made mandatory for tennis players to compete in tournaments.

Another respondent admitted he doesn’t like Djokovic because of his “dodgy views on vaccines.”

As we highlighted last year, Djokovic was still being punished for his refusal to take the jab right up until June when he was banned from competing in the US Open, although this was later overturned and Djokovic went on to win the tournament.

The Serb was infamously kicked out of Australia in 2022 and prevented from defending his Australian Open title despite a judge initially ruling that the government was wrong to try to block him entering the country.

Last year, a tennis reporter who said Novak Djokovic chose a “strange hill to die on” by refusing to get vaccinated died suddenly.

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