Novak Djokovic has withdrawn from this week’s Indian Wells Masters after his request for an exemption to the rule prohibiting foreign travellers from entering the United States without a Covid vaccination appeared to fall on deaf ears.
With the current US border restrictions set to be lifted on 11 May, when the Joe Biden administration plans to abandon all Covid emergency measures, Djokovic had hoped to obtain special permission to compete at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden.
But the five-time champion will instead be absent from the season’s first Masters 1000 event for the fourth year in a row, and also seems certain to miss the Miami Open, which begins later this month.
It means that Djokovic, who lost to Daniil Medvedev in the Dubai semi-finals last week after returning to the tour for the first time since his victory at January’s Australian Open, will not be seen in competitive action until the clay-court swings begins in Monte Carlo next month.
“World No 1 Novak Djokovic has withdrawn from the 2023 BNP Paribas Open,” Indian Wells organisers announced in a statement. “With his withdrawal, Nikoloz Basilashvili moves into the field.”
The failure of Djokovic’s bid to enter the US comes after his hopes of competing in the country were dashed in similar fashion last year, ruling him out of both the sunshine swing and the US Open series.
Tommy Haas, the Indian Wells tournament director and former world No 2, had petitioned lobbied extensively on behalf of the Serb, suggesting it would be “a disgrace” if Djokovic were barred from entering the country. The German’s views were echoed by another former top-five player, James Blake, the Miami Open chief, who said he had “petitioned for an exemption based on the fact that there doesn’t seem to be any imminent danger with him playing”.
“We’ve highlighted the fact that it would be good for the economy, for the Miami community, and for tennis fans all over the world who want to see the greatest player in our game,” Blake told the Miami Herald.
Their calls were backed in a letter to Biden from two Florida senators, the Republican party’s Marco Rubio and Rick Scott, who urged the president to waive the vaccination mandate for Djokovic.
“It seems both illogical and misaligned with the opinions of your own administration to not grant him the waiver he requests so that he may travel to the US to compete,” wrote Rubio and Scott.
However, neither those entreaties nor an expression of support for Djokovic from the US Tennis Association and the US Open appear to have moved the authorities.
With Djokovic barred and Rafael Nadal sidelined as he continues his rehabilitation from the hip flexor injury he suffered at the Australian Open, Carlos Alcaraz will have the opportunity to reclaim the No 1 ranking should he win a first Indian Wells title. The 19-year-old Spaniard, who was beaten by Nadal in last year’s semi-finals, became the youngest No 1 in history when he won the US Open last September, but was dethroned by Djokovic after a hamstring injury forced him to miss the Australian swing.
However, a fresh injury scare at the Rio Open, where he was beaten in the final by Britain’s Cameron Norrie, has left Alcaraz racing against time to be fit for Indian Wells, where he would be the top seed in Djokovic’s absence.