The American Tennis Association and the organizers of the US Open, the last of the four major championships, supported the request of Serbian Novak Djokovic, ranked first in the world, to enter the country, despite not having received the Corona virus vaccine.
Djokovic, 35, hopes to get a permit to enter the US to compete in the Masters 1000 in Indian Wells and Miami.
And the two bodies stated in a joint statement: Novak Djokovic is one of the greatest champions that our sport has ever known. The US Federation and the US Open are hopeful that he will be successful in his bid to enter the country, and that fans will be able to see him compete again in Indian Wells and Miami.
Washington does not allow entry into the country for unvaccinated international travelers. The US Transportation Security Agency recently indicated that this procedure will not change until at least mid-April.
The Indian Wells Championship will start next Wednesday in California and will continue until the 19th of this month, and the Miami Open will follow from March 22 to April 2.
For his part, Djokovic, who shares the record for the number of titles in the Grand Slam with Spain’s Rafael Nadal (22 each), said in Dubai this week that he was still waiting to know whether the US authorities would grant him this authorization.
He added, before suffering his first defeat since the beginning of this year in the semi-finals against Russian Daniel Medvedev: If the request is rejected, I will withdraw from the tournament, of course, before the draw, scheduled for next Monday.
Djokovic was expelled from Australia shortly before the 2022 Australian Open for not receiving a coronavirus vaccine. Nor was he allowed to come to the United States to defend his chances at Indian Wells or the Flushing Meadows tournament. The last time he played a match on American soil was in Flushing Meadows in 2021.
