Novak Djokovic to miss Miami Open due to COVID vaccination status, tournament says

Tennis champion Novak Djokovic is about to miss his 2nd U.S. tennis tournament this yr, after he used to be denied access into the rustic for being unvaccinated in opposition to COVID-19.

The 35-year-old Djokovic will miss the Miami Open, which starts March 22, tournament director James Blake confirmed to the Tennis Channel on Friday. Djokovic has won the Miami Open six instances — 3 of the ones consecutively. The newest win got here in 2016. 

Blake stated tournament organizers spoke with federal officers and attempted their highest to get an exception to the U.S. coverage, which restricts unvaccinated world vacationers from coming into the U.S. 

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

Some, like Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, are calling on President Biden to take away the vaccination requirement and make allowance the Serbian athlete to compete in U.S. tournaments once more. 

In a press convention previous this month, DeSantis joked that he would run a ship from the Bahamas to Miami to convey Djokovic to the tournament.

“He poses zero risk to the United States, zero risk to the state of Florida and zero risk to Miami,” the governor stated on the time.

A spokesman from the U.S. Tennis Association informed the Associated Press Saturday that they’re “very hopeful” Djokovic shall be in a position to play within the U.S. Open, which starts on Aug. 28.

“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 We are very hopeful that the policy preventing Novak Djokovic from entering the United States will be rescinded, or lapse, in the near future,” Chris Widmaier stated. “No COVID-19 restrictions are in place at the U.S. Open for any player, fan or other attendee. Novak, one of our sport’s great champions, would be welcome to compete at the 2023 U.S. Open.”

Djokovic is these days tied with Rafael Nadal for essentially the most profession Grand Slam titles of all time, with 22. In February, he broke the report for essentially the most time spent by way of a qualified tennis participant within the No. 1 spot of the ATP rankings after successful the boys’s singles name on the Australian Open in January — a tournament he used to be turned away from in 2022 for being unvaccinated.