Novak Djokovic Set To Play In French Open After France Lifts Vax Passport Mandate

Huge victory for Novak Djokovic -- the Serbian tennis star is now expected to play in the French Open after French officials announced they will lift the country's vaccine passport mandate this month.

France had initially barred the unvaccinated from participating in events like the major tennis tournament ... citing health and safety reasons.

Of course, that rule was slated to preclude Djokovic from playing in May's tournament ... because, well, the guy is famously not vaccinated and said earlier this year he would absolutely miss any event that had a mandate in place.

But, officials announced Thursday the order is coming to an end on March 14 ... and with the tourney set to begin on May 22, Djokovic is now slated to, once again, be a participant.

It's a big deal for Djokovic ... because after he was barred from the Australian Open in January, Rafael Nadal ended up winning the tournament and overtaking Djokovic for most career majors with 21 total.

It's still unclear if 34-year-old Novak will be able to play in any other majors following the French Open -- mandates are still in place all over the globe.