After missing the Indian Wells Masters 1000, Serbian star Novak Djokovic will also drop out of the Miami Tennis Open as his request to enter the United States without being vaccinated against the coronavirus was not accepted, the organizers confirmed on Saturday.
The director of the Miami Masters 1000, James Blake, reported that the special permission requested by the world number one was not granted despite the support of those responsible for the tournament.
“We did everything we could. We tried to talk to the government, but it’s not in our hands,” said the head of the Miami tournament, which starts next Wednesday.
Djokovic, six times champion of this Masters 1000, had already tried unsuccessfully to be authorized to travel to Indian Wells, a tournament that he has won five times and that concludes with the finals on Sunday.
Djokovic’s request to the US authorities came to receive public support from the US Open, the Grand Slam tournament organized in this country, and from the national tennis association.
“We tried to get Novak Djokovic to get a waiver, but it wasn’t possible,” Blake stressed. “We’ve exhausted every option we know of and can handle. Hopefully Novak will be back next year.”
On Sunday, Djokovic may lose the ATP number one spot if Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz wins the Indian Wells title.
Djokovic’s refusal to get vaccinated has already kept him out of major tournaments in recent years and even led to his deportation by Australian authorities when he attempted to compete at the Australian Open in early 2022.
Djokovic, who was unable to play the US Open in 2022 either, had a triumphant return to Australia this year adding his 22nd Grand Slam title, with which he equaled the record of Spanish Rafael Nadal.
The United States continues to not allow unvaccinated international travelers to enter the country and the Transportation Security Administration advanced that this measure will not be modified until at least mid-April.