It appears that Novak Djokovic has failed in his attempt to gain entry into the United States after organizers of the BNP Paribas Open announced his withdrawal on Monday.
The 22-time Grand Slam champion had been hoping to play at the Masters 1000 event in Indian Wells but is currently banned from entering the country as he is not vaccinated against COVID-19. America has a national health emergency policy designed to curb the spread of the virus in place until May. Djokovic had submitted a request for a special exemption which would have allowed him to play.
Over the weekend speculation started to emerge that the request has been unsuccessful after Florida senator Rick Scott claimed that he was told by Homeland Security that they have refused Djokovic’s application. Fellow Senator Marco Rubio also said that the tennis star shouldn’t be prevented from playing tennis tournaments. After these comments, an official statement from Indian Wells announced that the tennis star had pulled out of their event.
“World No 1 Novak Djokovic has withdrawn from the 2023 BNP Paribas Open. With his withdrawal, Nikoloz Basilashvili moves into the field,” a statement read.
It isn’t just politicians that have called for Djokovic to be allowed to play in Indian Wells, as well as the Miami Masters which will take place later this month. The United States Tennis Association (USTA) and the US Open previously said they were ‘hopeful’ the Serbian would be granted entry. In a tweet, they described the world No.1 as ‘one of the greatest champions our sport has ever seen.’ Meanwhile, Indian Wells tournament director Tommy Haas has also lent his weight behind Djokovic by saying it would be a ‘disgrace’ if he was not allowed to play.
It is possible that Djokovic could lose his No.1 ranking in the coming weeks as a result of his absence from Indian Wells and most likely Miami too. In order for that to happen, Carlos Alcaraz needs to achieve the unprecedented task of winning both tournaments to secure that position. It is the same scenario for Greece’s Stefanos Tsitsipas.
There is yet to be any public comment from Djokovic regarding his absence from Indian Wells. He has started the season in blistering form by winning 15 out of 16 matches played with his only loss being to Daniil Medvedev in Dubai. He has won two titles so far in 2023 at the Adelaide International followed by the Australian Open where he tied Rafael Nadal for the most major titles won by a male singles player.
This year is only the second time since 1991 that the Indian Wells men’s draw will not feature the world No.1 player.
