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Fresh off his latest win at Wimbledon 2022, tennis champion Novak Djokovic says he won’t be able to compete in the upcoming US Open tournament due to Covid rules banning unvaccinated foreigners from entering the country.
“Sadly, I will not be able to travel to NY this time for US Open,” Djokovic announced Thursday after waiting weeks to receive confirmation.
Sadly, I will not be able to travel to NY this time for US Open. Thank you #NoleFam for your messages of love and support.
Good luck to my fellow players! I’ll keep in good shape and positive spirit and wait for an opportunity to compete again.
See you soon tennis world!
— Novak Djokovic (@DjokerNole) August 25, 2022
“Thank you #NoleFam for your messages of love and support. Good luck to my fellow players! I’ll keep in good shape and positive spirit and wait for an opportunity to compete again. See you soon tennis world!”
Djokovic, who’s won three previous US Open tournaments, was reportedly looking forward to playing and continued training as though he would be able to compete, according to social media posts.
“I am preparing as if I will be allowed to compete, while I await to hear if there is any room for me to travel to [the] US,” he wrote on Instagram in late July.
However, new rules on travel and vaccination released by the CDC on Wednesday stated that “Non-U.S. citizen, non-U.S. immigrants: You must show proof of being fully vaccinated with the primary series of an accepted COVID-19 vaccine before you board your flight to the United States. Only limited exceptions apply.”
A spokesperson for the US Open, Stacey Allaster, said it’s sad Djokovic won’t be able to play, writing, “Novak is a great champion and it is very unfortunate that he will be unable to compete at the 2022 US Open, as he is unable to enter the country due to the federal government’s vaccination policy for non-U.S. citizens. We look forward to welcoming Novak back at the 2023 US Open.”
The US Open is just the latest tournament in the West where the Serbian champion won’t be able to compete due to Covid vaccination travel bans, along with the Western & Southern Open which concluded in Cincinnati last Sunday, and Canada’s National Bank Open.
At the beginning of the year, Djokovic was detained in Australia for five days ahead of the 2022 Australian Open, where he was defending champion, after he admitted to border officers he was unvaccinated.
Due to being unable to defend his title, Djokovic lost his No. 1 ranking which he’d held for a record-setting 373 consecutive weeks.
In an interview with the BBC earlier this year, Djokovic said bodily autonomy and the right to decide what he puts in his body is more important to him than defending titles.
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It’s “the price that I’m willing to pay,” he remarked. “I was never against vaccination,” he added, saying he wasn’t against all vaccines, “but I’ve always supported the freedom to choose what you put in your body.”
Djokovic went on to tell the BBC, “…The principles of decision making on my body are more important than any title or anything else. I’m trying to be in tune with my body as much as I possibly can.”
Djokovic was allowed to compete in the recent 2022 Wimbledon tournament after organizers relaxed rules on mandatory vaccination requirements. He went on to win the tournament for the seventh time.