Novak Djokovic and Serena Williams are officially signed up for the U.S. Open, organizers announced Wednesday, but that doesn’t mean they’ll play in the tournament – in the Serbian’s case, he would be ruled out, as of today. today, by virtue of his vaccination status against COVID-19.
Posted at 2:13 p.m.
Singles entries are a mere formality, and include all players who are eligible under recent ATP and WTA World Rankings.
Williams is included on this list under a special exemption granted to her as she has been absent from the women’s pro circuit for an extended period due to injury; her first match of 2022 came last month at Wimbledon, when she lost in the first round to Harmony Tan.
Asked if she still wanted to pursue her career, the 40-year-old American said she didn’t know. When asked if she plans to compete at the U.S. Open, where she has won six of her 23 career Grand Slam titles, Williams replied: “There’s obviously an additional source of motivation to keep going. ‘improve and perform at home’.
She missed the tournament at Flushing Meadows last year after injuring her leg at Wimbledon.
Meanwhile, 35-year-old Djokovic missed the Australian Open last January after being kicked out of the country due to his vaccination status. He has always said that he would never receive a COVID-19 vaccine just for the purpose of competing in tennis tournaments.
The United States refuses all visitors who are not vaccinated, which explains why the “Djoker” missed the tournament in Indian Wells, California, and Miami earlier this season. In addition, he will be conspicuously absent next month at the Cincinnati tournament, and may have to miss the US Open, which begins on August 29.
In its statement disclosing entries for the tournament, the US Tennis Associated said: “The US Open does not have a player-specific vaccination policy, but the tournament will respect the US government’s position regarding visitors who do not are not vaccinated.
After his victory at Wimbledon, where he defeated Australian Nick Kyrgios in the final, Djokovic mentioned that he would “love” to compete at the United States Open, before adding: “I don’t plan to get vaccinated”.