Australian tennis player Arina Rodionova seemingly pokes fun at Novak Djokovic’s hamstring injury

Australian tennis player Arina Rodionova has seemingly poked fun at Novak Djokovic's recent hamstring injury. Djokovic played last month's Australian Open carrying a hamstring tear, and he went on to win the title last month despite the physical limitation.

Rodionova was due to play Australia's Olivia Gadecki in the quarterfinal match at the ITF 03A, but eventually pulled out due to injury. But before the match, the Australian took to Instagram to share an image of herself training with a bandage on her thigh.

Rodionova joked that she had done her research and found that despite suffering a 3cm hamstring tear, she could still play - which many believe was a sly dig at Djokovic's Australian Open triumph.

"So I have a 3cm tear in my hamstring and I've done some research, I should be good to go tomorrow," she captioned the story.

Arina Rodionova's Instagram story

Rodionova has won nine titles on the International Tennis Federation (ITF) tour. She reached a career-high ranking of 116 in 2017 and is currently ranked 302 in the world.

It should be noted that Djokovic has defended himself pretty strongly over the injury controversy. During the Australian Open, the Serb criticized his detractors and claimed that it was only his injuries that were questioned in the media.

“I leave the doubting to those people – let them doubt,” he said. “Only my injuries are questioned. When some other players are injured, then they are the victims, but when it is me, I am faking it. It is very interesting. I don’t feel that I need to prove anything to anyone."

Several former players, including his coach Goran Ivanisevic and former coach Boris Becker, have also defended Novak Djokovic on this issue.

Novak Djokovic seeks special permission to enter the United States to play Indian Wells and Miami Open

Novak Djokovic at the 2023 Australian Open

Novak Djokovic has sought special permission to enter the United States in order to play two ATP 1000 Masters tournaments - Indian Wells and Miami. Both tournaments will be played in the month of March, with Indian Wells beginning on March 9 and Miami slated to begin on March 22.

Djokovic's brother Djordje, in conversation with Serbian news outlet Tanjug, recently revealed that his brother had sought special permission to enter the US given that he was unvaccinated against COVID-19. Djordje also claimed that the denial of entry into the US is unbelievable considering the world is now open.

"Novak has to obtain special permission as the US is still denying entry to non-vaccinated persons, which is simply unbelievable as the whole world is open and sports events feature vaccinated and non-vaccinated athletes alike," he said.

The World No. 1's brother also stated that the tournaments themselves want Djokovic to come and that he has submitted all the necessary documents for entry.

"Novak has submitted all the required documentation and a request, and the directors of the Indian Wells and Miami tournaments have publicly said Novak is needed at those tournaments and that they want him to come," he said.

Novak Djokovic had to miss both tournaments last year as well. In fact, he missed the entire North American swing - the US Open and four ATP Masters 1000 tournaments - due to his unvaccinated status.