Novak Djokovic has confirmed he will not be playing at Indian Wells as his vaccination status prevents him from being able to travel to the US for the tournament.
The Serbian, who recently lost his world number one spot to Daniil Medvedev, has played at only one tournament since he was deported from Australia at the start of the year after losing a visa appeal.
That was in Dubai, where he reached the quarter-finals, and Djokovic had hoped to be able to fly to America to compete at Indian Wells and then in Miami, however that will not be possible and he has now withdrawn.
Djokovic tweeted: “While I was automatically listed in the @BNPPARIBASOPEN and @MiamiOpen draw I knew it would be unlikely I’d be able to travel.
“The CDC has confirmed that regulations won’t be changing so I won’t be able to play in the US. Good luck to those playing in these great tournaments.”
A statement from Indian Wells said: “Novak Djokovic has withdrawn from the BNP Paribas Open. As the next player in line to be seeded, Grigor Dimitrov will move into Djokovic’s space in the draw, and a Lucky Loser from qualifying will move into Dimitrov’s space in the draw once qualifying is complete.”
It remains to be seen when Djokovic will next take to the court, though he did confirm in the aftermath of the Australian Open episode that he would stick by his views on getting the vaccine even if it meant sacrificing future success.
