Unvaccinated Novak Djokovic withdraws from US Open

Former top-ranked men’s tennis player Novak Djokovic announced he has withdrawn from the U.S. Open because he is unvaccinated against COVID-19 and cannot obtain a visa.

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Djokovic, 35, a 21-time Grand Slam champion who won the Wimbledon title on July 10, cited travel restrictions to the U.S. due to the player’s unvaccinated status as the reason for withdrawing. He tweeted his decision moments before the men’s drawing, ESPN reported.

Djokovic, who has had COVID-19 at least twice, has refused to get vaccinated, arguing that getting the shot should be a personal decision and not a requirement to play in the tournament, according to The New York Times.

Stacy Allaster, the U.S. Open’s tournament director, said in a statement that the tournament is looking forward to welcoming Djokovic in 2023.

“Novak is a great champion and it is very unfortunate that he will be unable to compete at the 2022 U.S. Open, as he is unable to enter the country due to the federal government’s vaccination policy for non-U.S. citizens,” Allaster said.

Djokovic was unable to compete at Indian Wells or the Miami Open in March due to the same U.S. travel regulations, CNN reported. Djokovic, who was ranked No. 1 in the world in January, is now ranked sixth.

Djokovic won his seventh title at Wimbledon last month and his fourth in a row at the All England Club, defeating Nick Kyrgios 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, 7-6 (3).

In January, Djokovic was at the center of a political debate when he announced that he had received a special exemption to enter Australia and play in the Australian Open.

After the Australian government canceled Djokovic’s visa, the decision was upheld by a three-judge panel, the Times reported.

Djokovic ultimately left the country without defending his singles title there, after a twist-filled saga ended with a ruling by a three-judge panel that affirmed the Australian government’s decision to cancel the star athlete’s visa.

The athlete’s attorneys had argued that Australia’s immigration minister, Alex Hawke, had made a mistake by canceling Djokovic’s visa on the grounds that he could encourage anti-vaccination sentiment in the country, the Times reported. Hawke had not considered whether deporting Djokovic could also stoke such sentiment, Djokovic’s lawyers argued.

A lawyer for Hawke argued that Djokovic’s team could not possibly prove that the immigration minister had failed to consider the consequences of his decision.

By not playing in New York, Djokovic is giving up a chance to draw even with Rafael Nadal for the most men’s singles Grand Slam titles. Nadal, who won the Australian Open and French Open, has 22 Grand Slam wins.

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