The director of the Miami Open tennis tournament, James Blake, announced on Saturday that Serbian tennis player Novak Djokovic will miss the tournament next week after his request for an exemption to enter the United States was denied, due to his unvaccinated status against COVID-19. In TV statements, Blake said, "We tried to allow Novak Djokovic to obtain an exemption, but this was not possible." He added, "We are one of the premier tournaments in the world, and we want to have the best players. We did everything we could; we tried talking to the government, but this is beyond our control."
Djokovic also missed the ongoing Indian Wells tournament in California due to his inability to obtain a vaccination exemption. The United States prohibits the entry of unvaccinated foreigners into the country, but this policy is expected to be lifted when the government ends the COVID-19 emergency on May 11. Djokovic, who missed last year's Australian Open, has indicated that he prefers to skip major tournaments rather than get vaccinated. A representative for Djokovic stated that the player will not make any further comments regarding his absence from the Miami Open and intends to return to competition at the Monte Carlo Masters on April 9.
