Note: I had promised readers three articles on misinformation. They’re still coming, just in two weeks. I wanted to talk about this issue while it was still in the news.
Tennis has been an inexplicably major forum to debate social issues in modern times. The Battle of the Sexes, where Billy Jean King beat Bobby Riggs, was a landmark moment in the feminist movement. Serena Williams’ 2018 blowup at an umpire prompted serious introspection about the double-standards of decorum that people hold for male versus female athletes. In 2021, Naomi Osaka withdrew from the French Open to protect her mental health, an event that led to a more open discussion of mental illness among athletes. However, as far as I can tell, there has never been a controversy in tennis over public health guidance and immigration law.
Until now, that is. On January 5, 2022, top-ranked tennis player Novak Djokovic found himself in detention after his Australian visa was denied. In the days leading up to his arrival, there was an explosion of public anger about his intention to compete in the Australian Open. See, Djokovic is unvaccinated against COVID-19, and Australia is experiencing its first major wave of COVID-19. The country had previously avoided the worst of the pandemic through strict border controls and tight lockdowns, which proved to be extremely disruptive to the lives of average Australians. Melbourne was under lockdown for 262 days in two years!
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