The US Open will take place without Novak Djokovic. For the Serbian tennis superstar, this is apparently 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 be at the US Open, which starts next week. Shortly before the draw for the last Grand Slam tournament of the season, the name of the 35-year-old Serb was suddenly missing from the list of players published on the tournament website, on which he – like all professionals eligible to play – had been listed since the beginning of July. This is apparently the consequence of the Serb’s refusal to be vaccinated against the corona virus. 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.
“I’m preparing as if I had permission to play along while waiting to see if there’s any room for me to travel to the US. Fingers crossed,” Djokovic wrote on Twitter at the end of July. 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 wait 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. This hope has now apparently been dashed, even if there has not yet been any official confirmation from the organizers.
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.
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.”
Novak Djokovic is missing 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.
