Novak Djokovic handed blow as US Open confirms journey coverage for unvaccinated gamers

After profitable a seventh Wimbledon crown in London this month, Novak Djokovic’s hopes of including one other Grand Slam title to his tally of 21 have taken a success after the US Open has introduced that it’s going to honour the nation’s mandate concerning journey for unvaccinated non-US residents.

Djokovic’s contentious anti-vaccination stance has barred him from enjoying a full schedule of tournaments this yr and even resulted in his high-profile deportation from Melbourne forward of the Australian Open.

The Serb, in addition to some other unvaccinated gamers hailing from different elements of the world, won’t be allowed to play the US Open since they won’t be allowed to enter the nation’s borders.

In a press release together with the discharge of the participant lists for the lads’s and girls’s singles occasions – by which Djokovic is called merely as a formality – the United States Tennis Association (USTA) stated: “Per the ITF Grand Slam rulebook, all eligible gamers are robotically entered into the lads’s and girls’s singles main-draw fields based mostly on rating 42 days previous to the primary Monday of the occasion.

“The US Open doesn’t have a vaccination mandate in place for gamers, however it is going to respect the U.S. authorities’s place concerning journey into the nation for unvaccinated non-U.S. residents.

Our males’s and girls’s singles entry lists have been launched.

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— US Open Tennis (@usopen) July 20, 2022

If the United States and Australia’s guidelines on letting unvaccinated individuals into their nations should not loosened, Djokovic might be the opportunity of enjoying his subsequent Major on the 2023 French Open. The Serb has at the moment slipped to World No. 7 within the ATP rankings.

Petition to let Djokovic play

In June, a petition on change.org calling for the physique to let the 35-year-old play the American Major went up. Following the USTA’s assertion, the petition — which is aiming to amass 25,000 signatures — has seen a outstanding quantity of traction, reaching 22,000 signatures early on Thursday.

The petition reads: “There is absolutely no reason at this stage of the pandemic to not allow Djokovic to play at the US Open 2022. US Government and USTA must work together to allow him to play. If unvaccinated American players can play, Djokovic as one of the legends of the game must be allowed to play. MAKE IT HAPPEN, USTA!”

The World No. 7 has already misplaced floor to rival Rafael Nadal within the all-time Slam race, who gained the Australian Open in his absence and defeated him en path to a 14th French Open triumph. Nadal, whose tally stands at 22, may race away even additional in New York.