Djokovic waited until just hours before the US Open draw before announcing his withdrawal from the tournament in the hope that US government rules requiring foreigners to be fully vaccinated against the coronavirus to enter the country would be lifted in time to compete. But with border regulations in place even as Djokovic remains opposed to taking the Covid-19 vaccine, the Wimbledon champion will miss his second Grand Slam tournament of the season after being expelled from Australia ahead of the Australian Open at the beginning of the year. “Unfortunately, I won’t be able to travel to New York this time for the US Open,” Djokovic tweeted. “Good luck to my teammates! I will keep myself in good shape and in a positive spirit and I will wait for the opportunity to compete again.” Tournament organizers at the US Open made their position clear last month with a statement confirming it would respect US government rules. “The US Open does not have a vaccination mandate for players, but will respect the US government’s position on travel to the country for unvaccinated non-US citizens,” a July 20 statement said. Djokovic won his 21st grand slam title last month after defeating Nick Kyrgios in the Wimbledon final, but has not played since. The 35-year-old missed tournaments in Montreal and Cincinnati after saying he would wait for “good news” on Covid-19 vaccine rules in the United States, with that stance unchanged despite the US Open announcing its plans. Speaking after winning his seventh Wimbledon title, Djokovic said: “I haven’t been vaccinated and I don’t plan to be vaccinated, so the only good news I can have is that they will remove the mandatory green vaccination card or whatever you call it to enter in the United States or an exception. Djokovic is a three-time US Open champion (Getty Images) “I don’t know. I don’t think the exemption is realistically possible. If that’s a possibility, I don’t know what the exemption would be. I don’t know. I don’t have a lot of answers there. I think it’s just whether or not they’re going to remove it in time for me to get there in the USA”. In January, Djokovic controversially announced he would travel to Australia after receiving a Covid vaccine exemption that would have allowed him to play in the first grand slam of the season. After a public backlash, Djokovic was detained by border patrol upon arrival and later deported from Australia before the tournament. The former world No 1 was able to play in the French Open and Wimbledon tournaments as Covid rules across Europe eased ahead of the summer, but the United States has not changed its rules on unvaccinated foreigners entering the country. Djokovic is a three-time US Open champion, with his last win at Flushing Meadows coming in 2018. Since then, Djokovic has been busted for hitting a linesman in 2020 and lost to Daniil Medvedev in last season’s final, ending his hopes to achieve a calendar grand slam. It remains unclear whether Djokovic will be allowed to enter Australia ahead of the Australian Open in January. Expulsion from the country usually comes with a three-year ban, which, if upheld, means Djokovic may have to wait until next June’s French Open for his next chance to enter a grand slam.
