Hyderabad: Tennis star Novak Djokovic has made some serious allegations against a hotel in Australia during his quarantine in 2022. The 24-time Grand Slam champion has claimed that he was ‘poisoned’ during his quarantine in Australia in January 2022. He was detained back then for admitting to providing false information on a travel document ahead of the Australian Open a couple of years back.
Djokovic had his visa cancelled in 2022 and was eventually ruled out of the Grand Slam over his denial to get vaccinated against COVID-19. He was confined in a hotel in Melbourne during the time as he was fighting a legal battle. The whole issue caused a lot of discussion in the sports fraternity.
Novak Djokovic claims he was poisoned during Covid detention before Australian Open. pic.twitter.com/HFBloNiHIS
— The Gorilla (News & Updates) (@iGorilla19) January 10, 2025
"I had some health issues. I realised that in that hotel in Melbourne, I was fed with food that poisoned me. That's the only way it could have happened." He described his symptoms as resembling a severe flu, which led to further investigations after persistent health challenges,” Djokovic said while speaking to GQ.
Djokovic claims that he was poisoned with heavy metals while waiting in detention centre (for entering the country without a vaccine) in Australia in 2022. 🤯🤯 pic.twitter.com/3kg2tz6N93
— Shashanka Rao (@shashankasrao) January 9, 2025
He also added that he found high levels of mercury and lead.
“I had some discoveries when I came back to Serbia. I never told this to anybody publicly, but discovered that I had a really high level of heavy metal. I had lead, a very high level of lead and mercury,” he stated.
Novak Djokovic claims he was poisoned during his contentious stay in Australia. Woah. https://t.co/rKSYaN68Tx pic.twitter.com/djx2JNQgbk
— Alexandros Marinos 🏴☠️ (@alexandrosM) January 9, 2025
Djokovic will feature in the Australian Open starting on Sunday with an aim to clinch his 11th Australian trophy title. The 37-year-old won an Olympic Gold in 2024 but failed to win any of the Grand Slam tournaments for the first time since 2017.