Djokovic pulls out of Indian Wells
Top-ranked Novak Djokovic has withdrawn from the upcoming BNP Paribas Open, having lost his bid to enter the United States unvaccinated to play in the Indian Wells event.
The tournament announced his withdrawal Sunday night. Play in the combined ATP-WTA event begins Wednesday at Indian Wells Tennis Garden and runs through March 19.
Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) said on Twitter that Homeland Security had rejected Djokovic’s vaccine waiver request, which would have allowed him to play back-to-back at Indian Wells and Miami, which runs March 19 through April 2.
The U.S. is ending its COVID-19 emergency declaration on May 11, which will allow foreign air travelers to enter the county without being vaccinated.
The 22-time Grand Slam champion lost in the semifinals of the Dubai Tennis Championships on Friday.
With Djokovic out, Nikoloz Basilashvili moved into the Indian Wells draw.
Marta Kostyuk won her first career WTA title at age 20 by beating Varvara Gracheva 6-3, 7-5 in the ATX Open final in Austin, Texas, then dedicated the victory to her home country of Ukraine. The eighth-seeded Kostyuk and the unseeded Gracheva, a 22-year-old Russian, did not meet at the net for the traditional post-match handshake — Kostyuk has said she will not do so after facing any opponents from Russia, which began its invasion of Ukraine more than a year ago . ... Home crowd favorite Nicolas Jarry beat Argentina’s Tomas Martin Etcheverry 6-7 (5), 7-6 (5), 6-2 to clinch the Chile Open final.