Novak Djokovic has made a startling claim that his food was “poisoned with heavy metals” when he was detained in a Melbourne hotel in the days leading up to the 2022 Australian Open.

Djokovic, upon his arrival in the country, was held back at the Melbourne airport since he was not vaccinated for the COVID-19 virus at that point in time. He was initially detained and questioned at the airport before being moved to a hotel room for a few days, where he says the alleged incident took place.

Djokovic was later allowed to train for the Melbourne Major, but his visa was revoked a few days later and he was forced to leave the country.

In a recent interview with GQ Sports, the winner of a record 24 Grand Slam titles revealed that he faced health issues when he went back to Serbia after being deported from Australia. He claimed that he later found out that the cause of the sickness was the food he was served in the Melbourne hotel.

“I had some health issues. And I realized that in that hotel in Melbourne I was fed with some food that poisoned me,” Djokovic said.

High levels of lead and mercury in Novak Djokovic’s body

Novak Djokovic subsequently underwent health tests and the results showed that he had high levels of lead and mercury in his body.

“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 explained.

When asked if he knew the reason for the unusually high level of metals in his body, Djokovic alluded that it was due to the food.

“That’s the only way,” he remarked.

Novak Djokovic went on to claim that he received treatment from an “emergency medical team” and had to take “toxicology tests” after that.

In the same interview, Djokovic reiterated his stance that he was not for or against the vaccine, but that he just chose to do what was right for his body.

With a record 10 Australian Open titles already to his name, Djokovic will look to extend that record when he begins his Australian Open 2025 campaign against Grand Slam debutant Nishesh Basavareddy in the first round on Sunday (Jan. 12).