Melbourne

Novak Djokovic, the world’s number one tennis player said he was "extremely disappointed" by the Australian court's ruling on Sunday to dismiss his application for judicial review of the cancellation of his visa.

Djokovic confirmed that he will not participate in the Australian Open, where he is the defending champion.

A statement released by the nine-time AO champion read: "I am extremely disappointed with the Court ruling to dismiss my application for judicial review of the Minister's decision to cancel my visa, which means I cannot stay in Australia and participate in the Australian Open."

"I respect the Court's ruling and I will cooperate with the relevant authorities in relation to my departure from the country. I am uncomfortable that the focus of the past weeks has been on me and I hope that we can all now focus on the game and tournament I love. I would like to wish the players, tournament officials, staff, volunteers and fans all the best for the tournament."

"Finally, I would like to thank my family, friends, team, supporters, fans and my fellow Serbians for your continued support. You have all been a great source of strength to me," he said.

On Sunday, Djokovic lost his appeal against deportation, the Chief Justice James Allsop of the Federal Court of Australia announced.

Djokovic will now be required to leave Australia. The decision was unanimous, said Chief Justice Allsop. Other judges who were hearing Djokovic's appeal were Anthony Besanko, and David O'Callaghan of the Federal Court of Australia.

The tennis player was also ordered to pay the legal costs to the government. Djokovic's visa was cancelled on Friday by Alex Hawke, the Australian Minister for Immigration, Citizenship, Migrant Services, and Multicultural Affairs.

Djokovic's visa was initially cancelled upon arrival after hours of interrogation by Border Force officials. Then on Monday, judge Anthony Kelly of the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia quashed the cancellation of Djokovic's visa after tennis player spent five days detained in an immigration hotel.

On Wednesday, Djokovic had admitted that he conducted an in-person media interview and photoshoot in December despite knowing the fact that he was COVID-19 positive.