Unvaccinated Novak Djokovic out of US Open, can’t travel to US
- The tennis star’s refusal to receive Covid-19 jabs means he has to drop out of the year’s last Grand Slam tournament because of US travel rules
- There is no vaccine mandate for players at the tournament, meaning that an unvaccinated American would be allowed to compete
Novak Djokovic will not play in the US Open, as expected, because he is not vaccinated against Covid-19 and thus is not allowed to travel to the United States.
Djokovic announced his withdrawal from the year’s last Grand Slam tournament on Twitter on Thursday, hours before the draw for the event was revealed.
“Sadly, I will not be able to travel to NY this time for US Open,” Djokovic, 35, wrote, wishing luck to his fellow players, and said he would “keep in good shape and positive spirit and wait for an opportunity to compete again”.
Play is expected to begin at Flushing Meadows on Monday.
Djokovic, from Serbia, has won 21 major championships, one behind Rafael Nadal for the men’s record. Three of Djokovic’s Slam trophies came at the US Open, in 2011, 2015 and 2018.
He also was the runner-up there a half-dozen times, including last season, when his pursuit of the first calendar-year Grand Slam in men’s tennis since 1969 ended with a loss in the final to Daniil Medvedev.