USTA News: U.S. Open hopes to bring Novak Djokovic despite vaccine status

On Saturday, the U.S. Tennis Association (USTA) said it remains confident that Novak Djokovic will be allowed to enter the United States for the U.S. Open in August. The top-ranked player is unvaccinated against Covid-19, which has caused him to miss multiple events in Miami and California.

International visitors to the U.S. are still required to get vaccinated against Covid-19. Per CNN, Djokovic has already said he is still unvaccinated but has requested special authorization to enter the country before the tournament.

The 35-year-old said in April 2020 that he was not in favor of being vaccinated to travel. He then mentioned that he would refuse to be vaccinated even if it meant missing tournaments.

Djokovic failed to attend the season’s last Grand Slam tournament in New York in 2022. He also did not compete in the BNP Paribas Open, among other events.

“Policies concerning access to the United States are determined by the White House. We are very hopeful that the policy preventing Novak Djokovic from entering the United States will be rescinded, or lapse, in the near future,” the USTA’s Chris Widmaier said, as quoted by The Associated Press.

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Djokovic misses more tournaments due to Covid-19 stance

The two-week U.S. Open will commence on August 28 in Flushing Meadows. The Miami Open, on the other hand, begins next week, and Djokovic will be unable to attend, according to Miami Open’s representative on Saturday.

“We tried to get Novak Djokovic to be allowed to get an exemption, but that wasn’t able to happen,” Miami Open director, James Blake, said in an interview.

“Obviously, we’re one of the premier tournaments in the world, we’d like to have the best players that can play. We did all that we could. We tried to talk to the government, but that’s out of our hands.”

Djokovic has received backing from notable figures to enter the U.S. For example, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis tried to lobby regulations and said earlier this month that he would “launch a boat from the Bahamas” for Djokovic to play in the Miami Open.

Djokovic leads the ATP standings. He is 15-1 in 2023, with two victories, including the Australian Open in January.

Now, however, he is set to miss the season’s first two Masters 1000 events. He has also withdrawn from the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, California, which concludes this weekend.

He flew to Melbourne in January 2022 to try to acquire an exemption to play in the Australian Open. However, after his lawyers took the case to court, he faced deportation.

Since then, pandemic restrictions in Australia have been lifted, and Djokovic returned this year — winning the season’s first major tournament.

Meanwhile, Rafael Nadal — who shares the record with Djokovic for the most men’s singles Grand Slam titles — has been out since injuring his left hip flexor in the second round of a loss at Melbourne Park. He hopes to make a comeback at the Monte Carlo Masters next month.

Djokovic would have had a great chance of claiming the title in major tournaments like the Australian 2022 and Indian Wells 2022, an analyst said. If he had remained undefeated in those tournaments, he would have received $13.38 million in prize money.

He has also missed out on a potential 11,000 ATP ranking point, and his opportunities to compete in events outside of the U.S. have been limited.