Djokovic announced that he will not be playing on Twitter Thursday morning.
Djokovic, 35, is currently the sixth-ranked player in the world and is one Grand Slam title away from tying Rafael Nadal for most all time. He has spent more time as the number one ranked tennis player than anyone in history. He lost his spot on top of the rankings largely due to a lack of playing time because of his vaccination status. He already missed the Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati last week and the National Bank Open in Canada earlier this month.
He was also prevented from playing in the Australian Open, a tournament he has won a record nine times, including in 2019, 2020, and 2021. Djokovic was set to play in the 2022 Australian Open before he was deported due to his vaccination status.
According to the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention, roughly 27 million people residing in the United States have not been vaccinated with even a single dose, including NBA star Kyrie Irving, who was allowed to play in 29 games last season.
The United States Tennis Association (USTA) stated last month that while the US Open does not require participants to be vaccinated, they will respect federal guidelines for foreign players.
“The US Open does not have a vaccination mandate in place for players, but it will respect the US government's position regarding travel into the country for unvaccinated non-US citizens,” the USTA said in a statement last month.
The announcement that Djokovic would not participate in the US Open caused tennis legend John McEnroe to criticize the policy, calling it “BS.”
The US Open will run from August 29 to September 12.