Tennis player Novak Djokovic is willing to upend his career in order to protest vaccine mandates.

“The principles of decision-making on my body are more important than any title, or anything else,” Djokovic told the BBC.

The world’s top-ranked men’s tennis player has been at the center of a months-long saga regarding his eligibility to play in tournaments that require participants to be inoculated against COVID-19. He missed the Australian Open last month when he was deported from the country for failure to comply with its vaccine mandate.

“I understand the consequences of my decision,” Djokovic said, noting that he won’t be able to participate in this year’s French Open or Wimbledon if the rules don’t change. “That is the price I’m willing to pay,” he added.

Djokovic confirmed that he remains uninoculated , but insists he “was never against vaccination.”

“But I’ve always supported the freedom to choose what you put in your body,” Djokovic said.

Djokovic is widely considered one of the greatest tennis players of all-time. He is just one Grand Slam title short of tying rival Rafael Nadal for the most in history.

Amol Rajan, who interviewed Djokovic for the BBC, asked the 34-year-old Serbian “Ultimately, are you prepared to forgo the chance to be the greatest player to ever picked up a racquet statistically because you feel so strongly about this jab?”

“Yes,” Djokovic replied. “I do.”

Djokovic said he’s “keeping [his] mind open” about the possibility of getting vaccinated in the future.

The BBC’s medical editor writes “It is hard to know what more Novak Djokovic needs or wants to know,” adding:

More than 10 billion doses of Covid vaccines have been administered and about six in 10 people globally have had at least one. So there is a wealth of information. Like all medicines, Covid vaccines have potential side effects, but their safety profile is excellent. They have saved countless lives, prevented serious illness, and may also be protective against long Covid.

These vaccines were developed in record time, but much of vaccine development usually surrounds funding delays. Scientists involved in the Covid vaccine trials, and the regulators who approved them, say no corners were cut on safety.

Some rare side-effects did only show up once the jabs started being rolled out among millions of people, which is why regulators keep monitoring safety week by week.