No vaccination, no exemption.
Tennis superstar Novak Djokovic (34) will not take part in the two major upcoming ATP tournaments in the USA (Indian Wells and Miami).
The second in the world rankings justified this decision via his Twitter account with the fact that the US health authority CDC did not change its rules for entry and that he could not compete in the two events.
The Serb had stated in a BBC interview in mid-February that he was still not vaccinated against the corona virus.
Djokovic was number two at the Indian Wells event with its top participants. As a result of the withdrawal, the Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov has now moved up to the seeding list.
The day before, the organizers of the Masters 1000 tournament, in which the German ex-professional Tommy Haas is tournament director, had announced that they were in contact with Djokovic’s team and that it was unclear whether the Serb could enter the USA. Now the US authorities apparently remained firm.
Djokovic on Twitter: “I knew it was unlikely that I would be able to travel. Best of luck to everyone participating in these great tournaments.”
The Serb was expelled from the country just before the start of the Australian Open earlier this year and was therefore unable to defend his title in Melbourne. It has not yet been finally decided whether he will be allowed to take part in the next Grand Slams in the summer (French Open and Wimbledon) without being vaccinated.
