World tennis No.1 Novak Djokovic has been forced to withdraw from the Masters 1000 in Indian Wells, prevented from entering the United States because he is not vaccinated against COVID-19, announced the organizers of the Californian tournament on Sunday.
• Read also: A first in 18 years in the top 10
• Read also: Tennis: big leap forward for Leylah Fernandez
The Serb had requested a special dispensation from local authorities in recent weeks. In vain. The support received from the American Tennis Federation and the organizers of the US Open did nothing.
Djokovic will therefore not benefit from any preferential treatment. Because Washington does not allow entry into the country to unvaccinated international travelers. And the US Transportation Security Agency (TSA) recently indicated that this measure will not change until at least mid-April.
The Indian Wells tournament begins Wednesday in the Californian desert and will end on March 19. And it will be followed by another Masters 1000 with the Miami Open from March 22 until April 2, for which he should also be forced to forfeit.
Djokovic, co-record holder of the number of Grand Slams won (22) with Rafael Nadal, since his coronation at the Australian Open at the start of the year, was waiting to know the response of the American authorities to his request for exemption. “If it is refused to me, I will withdraw from the tournament of course, before the draw” scheduled for Monday, he said, before conceding the first defeat of his season in the semi-finals against Daniil Medvedev.
What he just did. The 35-year-old Serbian is certainly the most famous athlete to refuse to be vaccinated against COVID-19.
For this reason, he had been expelled from Australia, shortly before the 2022 edition of the Major in Melbourne. And the following months, he was not allowed to come to the United States to defend his chances at Indian Wells and the US Open.
The last time he played a game on American soil was at Flushing Meadows in 2021.
