Novak Djokovic withdraws from Indian Wells over US visa row
Novak Djokovic has withdrawn from the Indian Wells event in California that starts on Wednesday after being unable to secure an exemption in order to enter the US and compete in the first Masters 1000 tournament of the season. He will be replaced by Nikoloz Basilashvili.
The US does not allow unvaccinated foreigners to enter the country but the government will end its Covid-19 emergency declaration on 11 May. Djokovic had applied for an exemption, with parameters for receiving one including if a person’s presence in the US is deemed to be in the national interest of the country.
In recent days Djokovic’s application has attracted significant attention, with the Florida senators Marco Rubio and Rick Scott writing to the US president Joe Biden in support of an exemption. The US Open and Miami Open organisations took the unusual step of posting statements to their social media accounts on Friday in support of Djokovic, expressing hope he would be allowed to compete in the country.
Djokovic, who received some criticism for withdrawing from Indian Wells last year after the draw had been made, said last week that he would pull out before the draws this year if his application was not settled. The Indian Wells qualifying draw was made shortly after his exit on Sunday.
In addition to missing Indian Wells and Miami for two consecutive years because of his vaccination status, last year Djokovic was not allowed to compete in the US summer hard-court swing, including the US Open, and he was deported from the Australian Open.
Despite his sparse schedule this year, Djokovic returned to the world No 1 ranking after winning his 22nd
grand slam title at the Australian Open, becoming the player with the most weeks at No 1, passing Steffi Graf ’s marker of 377.
Although he had his first defeat of the season last week in the semi-final of Dubai against a resurgent Daniil Medvedev, Djokovic would have been favourite in Indian Wells. Djokovic’s absence means his ranking will be under threat – Carlos Alcaraz would return to the No 1 spot if he wins the title.
Elsewhere, Marta Kostyuk of Ukraine won her first career title at the ATX Open in Austin, defeating her Russian opponent Varvara Gracheva in the final. Kostyuk, 20, has been one of the most outspoken Ukrainian players since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and, as she has done over the past year, she opted not to shake Gratcheva’s hand. In the trophy ceremony, neither player mentioned the other in their speeches and they posed for photos separately.
Donna Vekic was the other WTA tournament winner, defeating the world No 5, Caroline Garcia, in Monterrey.
Alex de Minaur won the biggest title of his career at the ATP 500 event in
Acapulco, Medvedev extended his winning streak to 14 matches by dominating his countryman Andrey Rublev to win in Dubai and Nicolas Jarry won on home soil in Santiago.