Former men’s Number One, Novak Djokovic will not play in the U.S. Open, as expected, because he is not vaccinated against COVID-19 and thus is not allowed to travel to the United States.
Continue Reading…
Play is scheduled to begin at Flushing Meadows on Monday, August 29.
The 35-year-old Serb, a three-time US Open winner (2011, 2015 & 2018), owns 21 major championships, one behind Rafael Nadal for the men’s record.
He also was the runner-up at the Meadows six times, including last season when Daniil Medvedev stopped his ambition to score a Grand Slam (winning all four major titles in the same calendar year), a feat only Rodney George Laver achieved in 1962 & 1969.
The U.S. Tennis Association has said all along it will follow government rules about vaccination status for this year’s Open. There is no vaccine mandate at the tournament for players or their support teams — meaning that an unvaccinated American would be allowed to compete — and guests/spectators are not compelled to wear masks.
Foreign citizens who have not been vaccinated against COVID-19 are currently unable to enter the U.S or Canada, and Djokovic in an interview in February has said he would rather miss out on future tennis trophies than be forced to get a COVID vaccine. “I was never against vaccination,” he told the BBC, confirming he’d had vaccines as a child, “but I’ve always supported the freedom to choose what you put in your body.”
Djokovic missed the Australian Open in January after a protracted legal saga ended with his deportation from that country because he isn’t vaccinated against COVID-19. He also sat out four significant tournaments in North America in 2022, including in Montreal and Cincinnati recently.
He did play in the French Open this year, where he lost in the quarterfinals to Nadal, and at Wimbledon, where he beat Nick Kyrgios to win the title.
After winning Wimbledon on July 10, Djoko insisted he “would love” to participate in the US Open, but reiterated, he will not get vaccinated.
Djokovic has spent more weeks at No. 1 than anyone else in the history of the ATP rankings. He is No. 6 this week, in part because no rankings points were awarded at Wimbledon this year.
Among the other players who will not be at the U.S. Open for various reasons are No. 2-ranked Alexander Zverev (Injury), the 2020 runner-up in New York; 2016 champion Angelique Kerber (Pregnancy); 2019 French Open finalist Marketa Vondrousova (Injury); Gael Monfils (Injury) and Reilly Opelka.
Sadly, I will not be able to travel to NY this time for US Open. Thank you #NoleFam for your messages of love and support. Good luck to my fellow players! I’ll keep in good shape and positive spirit and wait for an opportunity to compete again. See you soon tennis world!
Novak Djokovic
Novak Djokovic withdrew from the 2022 US Open prior to the draw taking place this morning. The official seeding list is not determined until the draw is made. As the Qualifying Tournament has commenced, his
withdrawal resulted in a Lucky Loser being included in the draw.
Stacey Allaster, US Open Tournament Director
Novak is a great champion and it is very unfortunate that he will be unable to compete at the 2022 US Open, as he is unable to enter the country due to the federal government’s
vaccination policy for non-U.S.citizens. We look forward to welcoming Novak back at the 2023 US Open.
Share your thoughts