Novak Djokovic eliminated from US Open due to vaccination status


NEW YORK –

As expected, Novak Djokovic will not play at the US Open because he is not vaccinated against COVID-19 and is therefore not allowed to travel to the USA.

Djokovic announced his withdrawal from the last Grand Slam of the year Tournament on Thursday on TwitterHours before the draw for the event was revealed.

“Unfortunately, I cannot travel to New York for the US Open this time,” Djokovic wrote, wishing his teammates luck and saying he will “stay in good shape and positive spirits and will wait for an opportunity to compete again.” “

The game is scheduled to start at Flushing Meadows on Monday.

Djokovic is a 35-year-old from Serbia who owns 21 major championships, one behind Rafael Nadal for the men’s record. Three of Djokovic’s Slam trophies came at the US Open in 2011, 2015 and 2018.

He also finished second there half a dozen times, including last season when his quest for the first calendar-year grand slam in men’s tennis since 1969 ended in a final loss to Daniil Medvedev.

Foreign nationals who have not been vaccinated against COVID-19 are currently unable to enter the United States or Canada and Djokovic has said he will not get the vaccinations even if it prevents him from playing certain tournaments.

The US Tennis Association has been saying all along that it will follow government rules on vaccination status for this year’s Opens. There is no vaccination mandate for players or their support teams at the tournament – meaning an unvaccinated American may attend – and spectators are not required to wear masks.

“Novak is a great champion and it is very unfortunate that he will not be able to compete at the 2022 US Open due to the federal government’s vaccination policy for non-US citizens preventing him from entering the country,” said Stacey Allaster. the tournament director of the US Open. “We look forward to welcoming Novak back to the US Open 2023.”

Djokovic missed the Australian Open in January after a protracted legal saga ended with his deportation from that country for not being vaccinated against COVID-19. He also competed in four major tournaments in North America in 2022, including recently Montreal and Cincinnati.

He played at the French Open where he lost to Nadal in the quarterfinals and at Wimbledon where Djokovic won the title.

After beating Nick Kyrgios in the Wimbledon final on July 10, Djokovic said he would “love to” compete in the final Grand Slam tournament of the year at Flushing Meadows, but also admitted, “I have no plans to vaccinate allow.”

About three weeks later, Djokovic posted on social media that he was hoping to get a chance to play the US Open, writing: “I am preparing as if I may compete while waiting to to hear if this is the case any place for me to travel to USA. Fingers crossed!”

Djokovic has spent more weeks at No. 1 than anyone in the history of the ATP rankings. He is sixth this week, partly because no ranking points were awarded at Wimbledon this year.

Other players who will not make the US Open for various reasons include 2nd-ranked Alexander Zverev, the 2020 New York runner-up; Champion 2016 Angelique Kerber; 2019 French Open finalist Marketa Vondrousova; Gael Monfils and Reilly Opelka.