Novak Djokovic said he would not be able to compete in hard-court tennis tournaments in Indian Wells, California or Miami because he has not been vaccinated and cannot travel to the United States. The 20-time Grand Slam champion tweeted on Wednesday that the Centers for Disease Control “confirms that the rules won’t change so I won’t be able to play in the US”.
Djokovic, who recently dropped to No. 2 in the ATP rankings, has played in only one tournament so far in 2022 as he hasn’t got a shot at defending against COVID-19. He was deported from Australia in January and was not allowed to try to defend his title at Melbourne Park. Rafael Nadal has claimed the most in tennis history along with Djokovic and Roger Federer by winning the Australian Open for their 21st major trophy.
Djokovic is a 34-year-old man from Serbia who said in April 2020, as the coronavirus pandemic raged, that he was protesting the need for vaccinations to travel. In June of that year, on a hiatus from professional tennis, they staged a series of exhibition matches in Serbia and Croatia with no rules requiring social distancing or masking – a tour that was called off after some players, including Djokovic Was given, got COVID-19.
He was named in a draw for the BNP Paribas Open in California on Tuesday, even though his position was up in the air as the US requires foreign visitors to be vaccinated to enter the country. In addition, the tournament had previously announced that everyone on site at Indian Wells would be required to be fully vaccinated.
“While I was automatically listed in the @BNPPARIBASOPEN and @MiamiOpen draws,” Djokovic wrote on Wednesday, “I knew it would be unlikely I would be able to travel.” Indian Wells gets underway this week; The Miami Open starts on March 21.
“We understood from the start that Novak’s participation in the Miami Open was the determinant of his entry into the United States, which we knew would be a long shot,” said James Blake, director of tournaments in Miami. “We have incredibly deep and talented players in the field, and look forward to hosting a great event.”
Chris Widmeier, spokesman for the US Tennis Association, which governs the US Open, said the organization would not comment other than noting that the event followed government guidelines. The American Grand Slam tournament is scheduled to begin on August 29.
It has been a turbulent start to 2022 for Djokovic, who went through an 11-day saga in Australia and a court case before being sent home. During the legal back-and-forth, Djokovic said he had not been vaccinated and thought he should get a medical exemption for the rules requiring shots because, he said, he had tested positive for COVID-19 again in December. tested positive for. He also said that he attended a personal interview with a reporter despite the consequences.
In February, Djokovic said in an interview that he would not be vaccinated, even if he was required to attend events such as the French Open or Wimbledon. On the last day of last month, Djokovic dropped out of the No. 1 ranking for the first time in two years, slipping to No. 2 behind Daniil Medvedev. Djokovic has a record total of 361 weeks in the ATP, as is his number one season finish seven times.
And on March 1, Djokovic announced that he and coach Marion Vajda were separating after 15 years together. In his only tournament of the year, Djokovic lost to Jiri Wesley in the quarterfinals of the Dubai Championships.
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