Novak Djokovic is no stranger to controversy, particularly when it comes to the Australian Open. But now, as Djokovic returns to compete in the 2025 Australian Open, he's making headlines for a different reason, after making a shocking accusation.

In a recent interview with GQ, Djokovic alleged that he was "poisoned" by the food he was given in the hotel in Melbourne where he was detained in 2022.

At the time, Djokovic arrived in Melbourne to compete in the Australian Open, only to have his visa cancelled by the Australian Border Force upon arrival due to his failure to meet the country's strict COVID-19 vaccination requirements.

Djokovic alleged that he was "poisoned" by the food he was given in the hotel in Melbourne where he was detained in 2022. Image: Getty.

Although Djokovic presented a medical exemption to enter, authorities raised doubts about its legitimacy. Djokovic was detained in an immigration facility and later deported from Australia, missing the 2022 Australian Open.

"I realised that in that hotel in Melbourne I was fed with some food that poisoned me," Djokovic said last week.

"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."

He recalled falling extremely sick following his departure from Australia.

"Yeah, very sick. It was like the flu, just a simple flu. But when it was days after that a simple flu took me down so much," he said.

The Department of Home Affairs declined to comment on Djokovic's claims. Image: Getty.

The Department of Home Affairs declined to comment, citing privacy reasons.

Speaking about his return to Australia, while he claims to hold "no resentment", Djokovic admits to feeling a certain trauma when it comes to immigration.

"The last couple of times that I landed in Australia, to go through passport control and immigration — I had a bit of trauma from three years ago," he said.

"And some traces still stay there when I'm passing passport control, just checking out if someone from immigration zone is approaching. The person checking my passport — are they going to take me, detain me again or let me go? I must admit I have that feeling."

Watch Djokovic's press conference at the 2025 Australian Open. Article continues after video.

Three years on from the vaccination debacle and months after his interview, Djokovic has declined to speak further about his comments.

"If you want to see what I've said and get more info on that, you can always revert to the article," Djokovic said when asked during an Australian Open press conference.

Feature Image: Getty.