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Novak Djokovic will not play at this year's Australian Open tennis tournament.

This is because he has been forced to leave the country - known as being deported.

The government says his decision not to be vaccinated, inaccuracies in his application to enter Australia, and the country's strict Covid rules meant that allowing him to stay would be bad for their efforts to beat coronavirus.

As a result they cancelled Djokovic's official permission to enter - known as a visa. He tried to appeal in an Australian court but judges have supported the government's decision.

Why did this happen?

Sunday's decision by the court brings to an end a long and complicated story that is tied up with the strict coronavirus rules in Australia.

Djokovic was originally given special permission to enter Australia - called a exemption - even though he wasn't vaccinated.

That led to a lot of public anger over the decision - more than 90 per cent of Australia's adult population is fully vaccinated, but some people are not allowed to travel outside the country or even between states due to coronavirus restrictions.

Many people felt that Djokovic getting into the country to play tennis showed there was one rule for the famous and another for ordinary people.

Djokovic's visa was cancelled shortly after his arrival in Melbourne on 6 January, after officials said he had "failed to provide appropriate evidence" to receive a exemption - and he was held at a hotel while his lawyers appealed the case.

Djokovic won that appeal as the judge found that he wasn't treated fairly during the process.

However, the Australian immigration minister - who is in charge of who can come in and go out of the country - still had the power to force him to leave and decided last Friday to cancel his visa again.

He could now face being banned from entering the country for three years. But Prime Minister Scott Morrison said he could be allowed back sooner under the "right circumstances".

"[The ban] does go over a three-year period, but there is the opportunity for them to return in the right circumstances and that would be considered at the time," he said in an interview on Monday.

What has been said?

Djokovic says he is "extremely disappointed" with the ruling but decided not to challenge the decision again - and agreed to leave the country.

In a statement he added, "I would like to wish the players, tournament officials, staff, volunteers and fans all the best for the tournament."

Djokovic said he was "uncomfortable" with the focus placed on him because of the drama and added: "I hope that we can all now focus on the game and tournament I love," he said.

The decision means that the nine-time Australian Open winner won't be able to defend his title, which if he had won, would have made him the most successful ever male tennis player with a record 21 Grand Slam titles.

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison welcomed "the decision to keep our borders strong and keep Australians safe".

He added: "Australians have made many sacrifices during this pandemic, and they rightly expect the result of those sacrifices to be protected."