Men’s tennis world No. 6 Novak Djokovic will not play in this year’s U.S. Open, set to begin Monday in New York, because he remains unvaccinated against COVID-19. Sports Illustrated’s Jon Wertheim and Chris Almeida examine the star’s decision, what it means for his pursuit of the all-time major wins record and how it impacts his legacy.
Chris Almeida: Here we are at noon Eastern time on Thursday, the week before the start of the main draw of the U.S. Open, and Novak Djokovic, who has won the tournament three times, who famously was the runner-up last year, has withdrawn from the tournament. We sort of knew this was coming: If you aren’t vaccinated and you’re not a U.S. citizen, you can’t enter the country. Djokovic hasn’t played any of the lead-up events in the States. But still, this is a pretty jarring development. And it would have been shocking a year ago.
Seven months ago we were having all these same conversations: Is he really going to cost himself a legacy because he is suspicious of vaccines? Well, now it seems like he will.
