Unvaccinated Superstar
Novak Djokovic does not play at the US Open
08/25/2022, 4:26 p.m
The US Open will take place without Novak Djokovic. For the Serbian tennis superstar, this is the consequence of his categorical refusal to be vaccinated against the corona virus. Unvaccinated aliens are not allowed to enter the United States.
Novak Djokovic will not compete in the US Open starting next week. “Unfortunately, I’m not able to travel to New York,” the Serb wrote on Twitter. The 35-year-old did not give any reasons, but a vaccination is required to enter the USA. There are only a few exceptions to the vaccination requirement.
Shortly before his rejection, it was noticed that the name of the 35-year-old was suddenly missing from the list of players published on the tournament website, on which he – like all eligible professionals – had been listed since the beginning of July. Unvaccinated foreign nationals are currently unable to enter Canada or the United States, until recently Djokovic had hoped for a change in the stance of the US authorities.
That hope has now been dashed. “I will continue to stay in good shape and keep my positive spirit,” Djokovic continued on Twitter: “And I will wait for the next opportunity to compete again. See you soon, tennis world.”
Previously, he had always said: “I’m preparing as if I had permission to play while I’m waiting to see if there’s any room for me to travel to the US. Fingers crossed,” Djokovic wrote at the end of July Twitter. Most recently, the obligation to test before entering the USA was overturned, but with a few exceptions, vaccination against the corona virus is still a prerequisite for entering the country. “I’ll be waiting for hopefully good news from the US because I would really love to go there. That would be probably the next big tournament, next big swing, play a tournament or two before that and then the US Open,” the 21-time Grand Slam champion was still hopeful.
Djokovic consistently refuses to be vaccinated against the corona virus, “I am not vaccinated and I do not plan to be vaccinated,” he confirmed after his victory in the Wimbledon grass classic. Because of his attitude, he had already missed the Australian Open in January after a long controversy after being deported from the country. Most recently, Djokovic also had to cancel the preparatory tournament in Cincinnati, the organizers citing “travel restrictions” as the reason.
“Crazy things are happening in the world”
Djokovic’s trainer Goran Ivanisevic had already left himself in July – and was rather pessimistic: “Maybe (President Joe) Biden will change his mind,” said the former Wimbledon champion. “If he goes to the States, it’s wonderful. If he doesn’t go to the States, what can we do? There are other tournaments. There are a lot of crazy things happening in the world. Every day something changes, something new happens. We see what will happen.”
Djokovic will thus lose world ranking points, last year he reached the final in Flushing Meadows and lost there to Daniil Medvedev. Djokovic is currently sixth in the ATP ranking.
The Serb also misses another chance to get closer to one of his major career goals: The 35-year-old is fighting a spectacular race with Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal for the unofficial title of “Grand Slam King”: The Swiss Federer, who has been permanently injured for years, is currently fighting for his comeback, like Djokovic he has won 21 Grand Slam tournaments, the Spaniard Nadal has 22 wins in one of the four most important tournaments on the tennis calendar. Djokovic has triumphed in New York three times in his career, but also suffered one of his most bitter defeats last year: Due to the final defeat against the Russian Daniil Medvedev, Djokovic missed the “Grand Slam”, i.e. the triumph in all four Grand Slam tournaments within a calendar year.