The decision has all but ended the ambitions of the world’s No.1 men’s tennis player to contest the Australian Open and win a record 21st grand slam

World men’s No.1 Novak Djokovic could have his visa cancellation case transferred to Australia’s Federal Court, Judge Anthony Kelly, the presiding judge in his case, announced Friday. 

Djokovic’s hearing on Monday was heard in Australia’s Federal Circuit and Family Court. Judge Kelly has requested a transfer to the Federal Court of Australia, due to the case’s importance. 

The issue is still being debated in open court. The suggested hearing would be Saturday, January 15. 

British tennis star Andy Murray said the ongoing Novak Djokovic visa situation was unfortunate for all parties involved.

“It’s not a good situation. I’m not going to start kicking Novak whilst he’s down,” Murray told reporters at the Sydney Tennis Classic tournament on Friday.

Murray was speaking after learning of Australia’s Minister for Immigration Alex Hawke’s decision to cancel Djokovic’s visa.

“It’s unfortunate that it’s ended up in this sort of situation,” added Murray.

“Yeah, just want it obviously to get resolved. I think it would be good for everyone if that was the case. It just seems like it’s dragged on for quite a long time now.

“Not great for the tennis, not great for the Australian Open, not great for Novak,” added Murray, who is a three-time grand slam champion.

On Friday, Murray reached his first ATP Tour final since 2019 after beating American fourth seed Reilly Opelka at the Sydney Tennis Classic.

Novak Djokovic has not yet been taken back into detention by the Australian Border Force, the barrister acting on his behalf, Nick Wood, said in court Friday. 

Djokovic’s lawyers are calling for the world tennis No.1 to not be re-detained by Australian authorities Friday evening (local). 

They have requested that he remain at his private residence this evening and that he be granted permission to meet with his legal team on Saturday. 

CNN has spoken to Australia’s former Deputy Immigration Minister Abul Rizvi to obtain the following guidance on the options that are open to Djokovic now that Australia’s Minister for Immigration, Alex Hawke, has canceled his visa. 

The Minister exercised his powers under section 133(C) of the Migration Act, which grants him authority to cancel visas under the grounds laid out in section 116 of the Migration Act. 

Djokovic and his legal team will now receive a ‘notice of the cancellation decision’ which will contain the relevant information concerning the grounds for his visa cancellation. 

Upon receiving this notice, Djokovic should be taken into detention as set out in section 189 of Australia’s Migration Act, which states that “If an officer knows or reasonably suspects that a person in the migration zone (other than an excised offshore place) is an unlawful non-citizen, the officer must detain the person.” 

Should that happen, in order to be released from detention, Djokovic’s lawyers will need to seek an interim order for the 34-year-old to be granted a bridging visa from the courts, with work rights so he can play in the Australian Open. 

For a period of 28 days, Djokovic’s legal team can now also make further representations to the minister himself to revoke the cancellation. 

Djokovic’s legal team can pursue both courses of action in conjunction, they are not exclusive. As his team has already made representation to the minister in this case though, it is unlikely they will go down that route again.  

The top priority now for Djokovic’s legal team will be to seek an interim order from the courts to get the 34-year-old out of detention (if and when that happens), so that he can play in the Australian Open.

A “directions hearing” on world men’s tennis No.1 Novak Djokovic’s visa cancellation is underway before Judge Anthony Kelly of Australia’s Federal Circuit Court. 

A directions hearing is the first procedural hearing held in immigration cases in Australia. 

Judge Kelly quashed the original decision to revoke Djokovic’s visa on January 6, explaining that the 34-year-old Serbian had not been given sufficient notice of his visa cancelation, or enough time by the government to prepare materials.

At the center of the legal back-and-forth between Novak Djokovic and the Australian government is the tennis star’s unvaccinated status — and whether his Covid-19 infection in December should be grounds for a medical exemption to the country’s entry requirements.

Djokovic’s team argues: The Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunization (ATAGI), an advisory group for the federal government, included provisions on past infections in their vaccination guidelines.

Published in December, the guidelines noted that “natural immunity from past infection is recognised as fully-vaccinated in several European countries,” and that evidence suggests past infection provides at least six months of protection.

However: The guidelines also clearly say that despite acknowledgement of natural protection, past infection “is not a contraindication to vaccination” — meaning it is not a valid reason for somebody not to get the vaccine.

Immigration law specialist Maria Jockel also pointed to existing government guidelines on vaccination exemptions as a counterpoint to Djokovic’s argument.

In Australia, only significant medical reasons count for an exemption — like if someone had anaphylaxis after a previous dose, or they are significantly immunocompromised.

“Previous infection with the same pathogen” is not a valid reason, according to government agency Services Australia.

In a statement released Friday, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said the decision by Immigration Minister Alex Hawke to revoke Novak Djokovic’s visa serves to protect Australia during the pandemic.

His full statement:

Novak Djokovic arrived in Melbourne on January 5 and promptly had his visa canceled for entering Australia without a valid reason why he couldn’t be vaccinated against Covid-19.

He spent several nights in a detention hotel in Melbourne, which also houses dozens of refugees.

His lawyers challenged the decision and won the legal battle on Monday, but since then questions have emerged over Djokovic’s behavior after testing positive for Covid-19 on December 16.

In a statement published to social media on Wednesday, Djokovic acknowledged he did not immediately isolate after receiving a positive diagnosis — but denied knowing he had the virus when attending several public events.

He also apologized for false information on his Australia visa declaration, specifically that he hadn’t traveled in the 14 days before his arrival in the country. Photos taken during that period appear to show him in both Spain and Serbia.

Djokovic said a member of his support staff submitted the information and the omission had been “human error.”

In the statement, Djokovic also admitted doing an interview and photo shoot with a French sports newspaper while Covid positive, which he conceded was an “error of judgment.”

Serbia reaction: Before Friday’s decision, Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić said he was “proud” to help the tennis star during the visa dispute but acknowledged it was “necessary that people are vaccinated.”

He also appeared to indirectly address Djokovic’s admission that he did not immediately isolate after testing positive for Covid-19 in December.

Meanwhile, Serbian Prime Minister Ana Brnabić told the BBC it would be “a clear breach of rules” if Djokovic was at a public event after knowing he had tested positive.

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Justin Quill, an immigration lawyer in Melbourne, told CNN he wasn’t surprised by Immigration Minister Alex Hawke’s decision to revoke Djokovic’s visa — but “there’s not enough detail in the statement … for us to properly understand the grounds.”

What “public interest” means: In his statement, Hawke said he had canceled Djokovic’s visa “in the public interest.”

This could mean a variety of things, Quill said. It could mean the government wants to send a message to the Australian public about the importance of vaccinations. It could be to show the wider global community about how seriously Australia takes its vaccination requirement for all international arrivals. Or it could mean Djokovic poses a physical risk because he could become infected and pass on the virus.

These are just a few guesses, and there could be many more reasons. Ultimately, only Hawke and Djokovic’s team know for sure.

What Djokovic’s team might do: The tennis player needs to show an arguable case and file for a temporary injunction, but it’s hard to predict what the details of that case might be without having Hawke’s full explanation, Quill said.

If he does file for an injunction and receive it, it might allow Djokovic to train for and play in the Australian Open, he added.