The country’s state of emergency is slated to end on March 31, after which there will no longer be a vaccination mandate. In light of that, Panatta spoke to Italian news agency Adnkronos to express his disapproval of the developments.

The Italian felt that the World No. 1 has no business playing on the clay courts of Rome unless he chose to get vaccinated. If not, he would be better off “staying at home” in that case.

However, Panatta conceded that it was ultimately not his decision to make. If the 20-time Grand Slam champion is allowed to play at the Rome Masters legally, he sees no reason why he shouldn’t be able to.

The former World No. 4 reckoned the law should be fair to all. He further believed that making an exemption for an unvaccinated player would send the “wrong message” to the public. Although he acknowledged the 35-year-old’s stature as an elite tennis player, Panatta was worried his participation might lead to “more and more confusion.”

The 71-year-old even brought up the recently concluded 2022 Australian Open to justify his claims, saying that Djokovic’s non-participation did not affect the tournament’s status in any way. Extrapolating from that, Panatta was convinced that the Rome Masters would be able to achieve the same success even in the absence of the 5-time winner.

It should be noted that Adriano Panatta’s views are in line with that of Italy’s undersecretary for health.

Novak Djokovic kicks off his 2022 season against Lorenzo Musetti at the Dubai Tennis Championship

Meanwhile, Novak Djokovic has encountered no such opposition in Dubai. The World No. 1 kicks off his 2022 season at the Dubai Tennis Championships, where he squares off against Lorenzo Musetti in his opener next week.

The Serb stands a reasonable chance of winning his sixth title at the tournament, as the next five top-ranked players in the ATP rankings are playing at the Acapulco Open instead. The 20-time Grand Slam champion’s most formidable opponents are likely to be World No. 9 Felix Auger-Aliassime (semifinals) and World No. 7 Andrey Rublev (final).

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