The former world no. 1 and current world no. 2 Novak Djokovic has had a bad year so far and looks like the suffering has not ended yet. The Serbian star announced last night that he and his coach who have been together for 20 years will now be splitting up and he will be hiring a new coach.
This will mean some adjustment time for the Serbian as he gets used to his new team. However in a bigger turn of events, Djokovic’s sponsor Peugeot, which has been with him since 2014 will now be calling it a day and cancelling any further partnership with the Serbian.
Peugeot’s important source told the media that “We anticipate the Peugeot brand will be represented at the tournament in Dubai on Mr. Djokovic’s shirt.” However, post this incident, Peugeot CEO announced that they will be ending the sponsorship deal with Novak Djokovic amidst his anti-vax opinions and current situation.
“No, we will not continue with the sponsorship of Djokovic,” Carlos Tavares, CEO of the Stellantis group that owns Peugeot confirmed.
With Djokovic staying unvaxxed, it remains to be seen if he’ll be allowed into the United States for the Indian Wells. Rafael Nadal on the other hand has already reached California and started practising at the Indian Wells.
When asked if he would miss the tennis tournaments in order to stay unvaxxed, he said, “Yes, that is the price that I’m willing to pay because the principles of decision making on my body are more important than any title or anything else,” he recently told the BBC in his first in-depth interview since his saga in Australia.