'I never told this to anybody...' - Novak Djokovic reveals he was 'poisoned' in Australia

Tennis star Novak Djokovic set eyes rolling before the 2025 Australia Open by stating that he was poisoned by lead and mercury in his food while being detained in Melbourne City back in 2022, just before his deportation on the eve of the Australian Open 2022. The Serbian legend had his visa revoked and was ultimately expelled from the nation due to his refusal to get vaccinated against Covid-19. The star player spent time in a detention hotel room as he unsuccessfully fought a legal battle to stay in Australia country.

However, on December 31, 2021, the hotel had been providing the contractor responsible for the detention services with samples of the food material provided to detain their meal. Following the same, Australians say that detainees had access to a variety of nutritious, culturally appropriate food and drink that satisfied specific medical and any requirements for the players in the nation. In addition, according to the Indian Express, the players were also offered breakfast items such as bread, cereal, noodles, tea, and coffee at any time of the day and night.

Also Read: 'I'm not able to beat them' - Daniil Medvedev opens up on Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner's dominance ahead of Australian Open 2025

Novak Djokovic says when he was detained during Australian Open in 2021, he was fed food that poisoned him

Novak: “I had a paper with like a hundred items: from toothbrush, toothpaste, water, food, whatever. And I had to choose, tick the certain boxes, and each of these items… pic.twitter.com/PXm8dKWcqQ

— The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) January 9, 2025

“Well, I had some discoveries when I came back to Serbia. I never told this to anybody publicly, but discoveries that I was, I had a really high level of heavy metal. Heavy metal. I had the lead, very high level of lead and mercury. It was like the flu, just a simple flu. But when it was days after that a simple flu took me down so much, I had an emergency medical team treat me at home," Novak Djokovic said.

Novak Djokovic set to bid for an 11th Australian Open title 

Meanwhile, Novak Djokovic is now set to bid for an 11th Australian Open title and a record-setting 25th major when the season's first Grand Slam will take place on January 12 at Melbourne Park. The Serbian legend was last seen in action in the 2025 Brisbane International, where American star Reilly Opelka ousted him in the quarterfinal thriller.

Also Read: 'I don't want to respond...' - Jannik Sinner breaks silence on Nick Kyrgios drama over doping saga