Djokovic Out of U.S. Open For Refusing to Get COVID-19 Vaccine

By Mayowa Oladeji On Jul 21, 2022

The U.S. Open has confirmed that Serbian tennis player Novak Djokovic will not be allowed to compete due to his refusal to get the COVID-19 vaccine.

In a statement released Wednesday, July 20, the U.S. Open explained that they had to follow the U.S. government’s rules on keeping unvaccinated non-U.S. citizens out of the country. Typically, the organizers said, eligible players are automatically seeded into the tournament, but they were unable to include Djokovic.

The statement read;

The US Open does not have a vaccination mandate in place for players, but it will respect the U.S. government’s position regarding travel into the country for unvaccinated non-U.S. citizens.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, non-U.S. citizens who are not immigrants traveling to the country by air are required to show proof of full vaccination against COVID-19 before flying from a foreign country to the U.S.

Given that Djokovic, 35, has repeatedly expressed that he will not take the vaccine, he would not be allowed in the country.

Unsure Future

Djokovic, currently ranked No. 7 in the world by the ATP World Tour, won the Men’s Singles Final in Wimbledon earlier this month. After the match, the champion told reporters it was not clear when he will next play a major tournament, according to ESPN.

35-year-old Djokovic said;

I’m not vaccinated and I’m not planning to get vaccinated so the only good news I can have is them removing the mandated green vaccine card or whatever you call it to enter the United States or exemption.

I don’t know. I don’t think exemption is realistically possible. If that is a possibility, I don’t know what [an] exemption would be about.

This would not be the first time Djokovic is unable to compete due to his refusal to get a COVID-19 vaccine. In January, Djokovic was deported from Australia because of his vaccine status and could not play in the Australian Open, the year’s first Grand Slam tournament.

Wimbledon did not make COVID-19 vaccination mandatory in order to participate in this year’s tournament, enabling Djokovic to enter and eventually win. But he remains unable to play in the 2023 Australian Open since he is not eligible for a visa in the country, leaving the tennis star out of the next two major tournaments.

Djokovic slid to No. 7 in the ATP world rankings after Wimbledon in part because he wasn’t allowed to play at the Australian Open, and the Serbian star’s ranking is likely to fall further now that he won’t be playing at the U.S. Open.

He has won 21 Grand Slam titles in his career and stands just one behind Spain’s Rafael Nadal for the all-time record.

The U.S. Open begins on August 29 and runs through Sept. 11 in New York City.

Novak Djokovic US OPEN GRAND SLAM