The unvaccinated tennis player who had her visa revoked has slammed the hotel conditions where she and Novak Djokovic are being held.
Czech tennis player Renata Voracova, who was detained in the same Melbourne hotel as Novak Djokovic after both had their Australian visas revoked, said her stay felt like “being in prison”.
Voracova entered Australia with a vaccination exemption but just like Djokovic, has ended up in detention at the Park Hotel in Carlton after authorities changed their minds.
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The development came despite the world No. 80 doubles player having already been allowed into the country and even playing an Australian Open warm-up event in Melbourne.
“I’m in a room and I can’t go anywhere,” Voracova told Czech publications DNES and Sport. describing her accommodation conditions as “unpleasant”.
“My window is shut tight, I can’t open it five centimetres.
“And there are guards everywhere, even under the window, which is quite funny. Maybe they thought I would jump and run away,” added Voracova, labelling the hotel as “a better dormitory”.
“They bring me food and there’s a guard in the corridor. You have to report, everything is rationed. I feel a bit like in prison.
“The men in plain clothes with the police came for me and deported me to the local detention hotel. You don’t expect anything like this to meet you here.
“Beetles and insects are not here, but it is not a place where you would like to spend more time.”
The Park Hotel — which houses asylum seekers in detention — has developed an unwanted reputation as criticisms over food and hygiene measures have been made public.
Unvaccinated against Covid-19, Voracova was allowed to enter on an exemption after recovering from the disease late last year.
“The federal officials let me in immediately. I was held at the Victoria state checkpoint as they sent my papers somewhere, but then they confirmed I was free to enter without problems,” she said.
The 38-year-old even managed a doubles match at the Melbourne WTA event in the run-up to the Australian Open starting on January 17.
On Friday, Australian authorities revoked her visa, interrogated her for several hours and sent her into quarantine at the Park Hotel.
“It felt like in an action movie and it wasn’t pleasant at all,” said Voracova, who has won 11 WTA doubles titles during her career.
Unlike the vaccine-wary world No. 1 Djokovic, who is awaiting a court verdict on his options to clinch a record 21st grand slam title, Voracova is planning to go back home.
“I would have to ask for another visa and wait for a week, locked up in a hotel, without training… it doesn’t make sense,” she said.
“So I’m waiting for a permit (to leave), on Saturday perhaps.”
Voracova said she may have ended up in detention because of the attention paid to Djokovic but she has no hard feelings toward the Serbian star.
“I don’t understand why they would come to me after a week and say, look, the rules that applied do not apply anymore,” Voracova said.
“I would like them to let him play. We are athletes, we have come here to play tennis and not to deal with disputes behind the scenes.”
Voracova also praised Djokovic’s fans who support their hero in the street outside, saying: “They sing, they chant. They have even chanted my name. There are crowds of fans. I guess they work shifts.”
Originally published as ‘Like being in prison’: Tennis star slams hotel detention after visa cancelled
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