World No. 1 Novak Djokovic missed out on winning his 21st Major at the Australian Open last month as his rival Rafael Nadal reached the feat instead. That had to leave Djokovic absolutely livid after he wasn't allowed to play in the tournament due to his vaccination status.

It's already expected that he won't be able to partake in the French Open or Wimbledon unless he changes his stance and gets the COVID-19 vaccine. But, it appears Novak doesn't plan to receive the jab.

Via CNN:

“I was never against vaccination,” Novak Djokovic told the BBC. “I understand that globally, everyone is trying to put a big effort into handling this virus and seeing, hopefully, an end soon to this virus.”

Djokovic said in the BBC interview that he understands the consequences of his decision to not get vaccinated, explaining that:

“I understand that not being vaccinated today I'm unable to travel to most of the tournaments at the moment.”

“And that's a price you're willing to pay?” the BBC's media editor Amol Rajan asked Djokovic.

“That is the price that I'm willing to pay,” Djokovic replied.

Wow. Novak Djokovic firmly believes in remaining unvaccinated, even if it derails his tennis career. While he's already won a ton of Grand Slams, the Serb is only 34-years-old. You'd have to believe he wants to keep playing and competing at a high level.

After the whole saga down under, there is not a chance any of these other tournaments are going to let him play unvaccinated. But, as Djokovic said, it's the price he's willing to pay.

I guess we can look ahead to not seeing Novak on the tour for the time being.