By Aaron Miller-
World class tennis ace, Novak Djokovic, has reportedly applied for a special entry exemption in order to get into the United States for Indian Wells and the Miami Open.
The five-time champion at Indian Wells but has not played a match on the hard courts in the Southern California desert since 2019 due to the US’s vaccine requirements.
The Australian Open winner is currently on the entry list for the ATP 1000 event and has delivered a request to be allowed entry into the US.
Djokovic has submitted the necessary documentation to play in the tournament, according to his younger brother, Djordje Djokovic.
Joe Biden’s administration has extended their emergency Covid restrictions to May 11, with all rules set to be scrapped after this date., freezing Djokavic out of the ‘sunshine double’ of the Masters 1000 events in Indian Wells and Miami.
The implication for Djokovic of being left out of the tournament is losing his world No 1 ranking, making such a drop more technical and political than based on performance. This could compromise the true quality of the rankings if it is not fully merit based because of Djokavic’s exclusion.
The tennis ace is on the entry lists for Indian Wells and the Miami Open.
His younger brother confirmed that he was back in training and looking forward to getting back into competitive action.
The Djokovic family are perplexed at the United States’ ongoing vaccination requirements and are hoping for a late change to their rules for foreign visitors.
“It is something that unfortunately is not in our hands,” Djordje Djokovic told the Serbian publication Tanjung.
“Novak has to get a special permit, considering that the USA still does not allow entry to unvaccinated people, which is simply incredible because the whole world is open and sports events around the world are held with vaccinated and unvaccinated athletes.
“Novak has submitted all the required documentation and a request, and the directors of the Indian Wells and Miami tournaments have publicly said Novak is needed at those tournaments and that they want him to come,” Djordje Djokovic said.
“There are only a few days to go before a decision is made and what remains for us to do is hope for a positive outcome,” he said.
Djokovic missed the Sunshine Double in 2022 and would later also miss the full US Open season.
On top of missing out on the two Grand Slams in Australia and the USA, Djokovic also lost out on taking part in Masters events in California, Miami, Montreal and Cincinnati.
With Djokovic out to dominate the record books he would love to get back to taking part in the four Masters tournaments based in North America.