Novak Djokovic has made it clear: He will not get a Covid vaccine

[LONDON] The world's top tennis player said he's willing to sacrifice trophies and skip Wimbledon in order to avoid a Covid-19 shot. At stake, he said, was freedom of choice.

"The principles of decision-making on my body are more important than any title, or anything else," Djokovic said in an interview with BBC journalist Amol Rajan.

Djokovic is at the heart of a contentious global debate over vaccine mandates. Last month, the 20-time Grand Slam winner was deported from Australia after a protracted dispute over his vaccine status.

The 34-year-old tennis star said he had received a medical exemption. But Australia's immigration minister, Alex Hawke, said allowing Djokovic to compete in the Australian Open would incite "civil unrest" and encourage anti-vaccine supporters.

Djokovic pushed back against that characterisation in the interview.

"I have never said that I'm part of that movement," he told the BBC. BLOOMBERG