As anticipated, Novak Djokovic will not participate in the U.S. Open since he is not immunised against COVID-19 and cannot enter the country.
On Thursday, hours before the event’s draw was made public, Djokovic declared on Twitter that he will not be competing in the last Grand Slam event of the year.
Wishing his fellow competitors well, Djokovic said, “Unfortunately, I will not be able to go to NY this time for the US Open.”
He added that he would “stay in good form and positive attitude and wait for a chance to participate again.”
Djokovic has said he won’t get the injections, even if it prohibits him from competing in certain tournaments.
Foreign nationals who have not had the COVID-19 vaccination are now prohibited from entering the United States or Canada.
The U.S. Tennis Association has consistently said that it would abide by all vaccine requirements for the Open this year.
A player from the United States who is not vaccinated would be permitted to participate in the event since neither spectators nor players are subject to any vaccination mandates.
“Novak is a wonderful champion, and it is extremely disappointing that he will not be able to participate at the 2022 U.S. Open,” said Stacey Allaster, the tournament’s director.
“He is ineligible to enter the country owing to the federal government’s vaccination policy for non-U.S. citizens.”
“We are excited to have Novak return at the 2023 U.S. Open,” said the statement.
Flushing Meadows is set to open for play on Monday.
Djokovic, a 35-year-old Serbian who is one major title behind Rafael Nadal in the men’s record books, has won 21 of them. In 2011, 2015, and 2018, Djokovic won three Slam titles in the U.S. Open.
In addition, he finished as the runner-up there a dozen occasions, including last year when he failed to complete the first calendar-year Grand Slam in men’s tennis since 1969 after losing to Daniil Medvedev in the championship match.
Djokovic missed the Australian Open in January following a drawn-out court battle that culminated in his expulsion from Australia due to his lack of COVID-19 immunisation.
Additionally, he skipped four important competitions in North America in 2022, most recently in Cincinnati and Montreal.
He participated at Wimbledon, where Djokovic won the championship, and the French Open, where he lost to Nadal in the quarterfinals.
Djokovic stated he “would love” to compete in the last Grand Slam event of the year at Flushing Meadows on July 10 after defeating Nick Kyrgios in the Wimbledon final, but he also added, “I’m not intending to get vaccinated.”
A little over three weeks later, Djokovic said on social media that he was still hopeful of being selected to participate in the U.S. Open. He wrote: “While I wait to hear whether I can fly to the US, I am preparing as if I would be able to compete. Cross your fingers!”
More weeks than anybody else in the history of the ATP rankings have been spent at No. 1 by Djokovic. Because Wimbledon did not offer ranking points this year, he is ranked No. 6 this week.
The No. 2-ranked Alexander Zverev, the 2020 runner-up in New York, the 2016 winner Angelique Kerber, the 2019 French Open finalist Marketa Vondrousova, Gael Monfils, and Reilly Opelka are among the other players who won’t be at the U.S. Open for a variety of reasons.