Novak Djokovic pulled out of the 2022 US Open hours before the draw was revealed.
As per the current rules in the United States of America, foreign travelers are required to be double vaccinated in order to enter the country. The Serb has stated numerous times that he has no plans to get the vaccine, hence making it impossible for him to travel to New York and participate in the year's final Grand Slam.
While many stood with Djokovic, others, like tennis great Martina Navratilova, fiercely opposed his stance. Due to this, Novak Djokovic's fans have been quite hostile towards Navratilova in recent days, accusing her of being mean to the former World No. 1.
Hence, the 18-time Grand Slam champion explained in a recent tweet why she disagrees with Djokovic's stance, stating that while claiming bodily autonomy is fine, it should not be imposed on a specific country (USA).
"Claiming your bodily autonomy is fine. But you cannot impose that on a country, it just doesn’t work that way. It’s all good," Navratilova wrote.
Djokovic's supporters proceeded to lambast the American on Twitter. One fan said that Navratilova falsely blamed Djokovic even though she knew the truth and asserted that she has an "evil soul."
"Martina knows the truth, but doesn't want to admit that cos it would be a must to apologise. Punnet you're just wasting your time with her and her evil soul," the fan wrote.
Another user wrote that they felt Martina Navratilova was tarnishing her own legacy by engaging in such behavior.
"Martina, I'm not sure what you are gaining by perpetuating untruths, but whatever it is I hope it's worth it. Someday, when the Big 3 - which includes Novak - are written about/studied/used in college classes, you will not look good. You are marring your own legacy at this point," the user wrote.
Here are a few more reactions:
"I still have passion and hunger to play at a highest professional level" - Novak Djokovic

Despite having won "pretty much everything," Novak Djokovic has stated that retirement is not on the horizon as he prepares for his Tel Aviv Open quest this week. The 21-time Grand Slam champion added in his pre-match press conference that he still has the "passion and hunger" to compete at the highest level.
"I still want to play tennis even though I achieved pretty much everything that you can achieve in tennis. I still have passion and hunger to play at a highest professional level," Djokovic said.
How did Novak Djokovic meet Jelena Ristic? All about the most admired couples in tennis