On the heels of securing his seventh Wimbledon crown, Novak Djokovic reiterated Sunday he has no plans to change his stance on the COVID-19 vaccine ahead of next month’s U.S. Open.
Djokovic, who defeated Nick Kyrgios in the men’s final to claim his 21st career Grand Slam, revealed to reporters he remains unvaccinated against the virus and does not intend to receive the required shots that would allow him to compete at Flushing Meadows in August. The Serbian superstar is currently not permitted to play at the U.S. Open due to the United States’ ongoing ban on non-U.S. citizens who are unvaccinated against COVID-19.
“I’m not vaccinated and I’m not planning to get vaccinated so the only good news I can have is them removing the mandated green vaccine card or whatever you call it to enter United States or exemption,” Djokovic said, via Gaspar Ribeiro Lança of Raquet.com.
He continued, “I don’t think exemption is realistically possible. If that is a possibility, I don’t know what exemption would be about. I don’t know. I don’t have much answers. I think it’s just whether or not they remove this in time for me to get to USA.”
Djokovic, the current World No. 3, has been under fire all season long for his refusal to receive the vaccine. His decision notably led to his deportation from Australia before the Australian Open in January for failing to meet the country’s entry requirement. Initially, the 35-year-old received a medical exemption from the Australian COVID-19 vaccine mandate to play in the event, but was eventually not allowed to compete after his visa was denied upon his arrival in Melbourne. Djokovic’s lawyers later revealed his exemption was granted due to a positive COVID-19 test the star registered in Dec. 2021.
Failing to defend his Australian Open title impacted Djokovic’s spot on the ATP Rankings, which took another hit following his French open quarterfinal loss to Rafael Nadal on May 31. With the ATP and WTA’s decision to strip Wimbledon of ranking points in 2022 following its ban of Russian and Belarusian players, he now stands to plummet even further despite his latest Grand Slam victory.
Prior to taking Centre Court at Wimbledon, Djokovic shared his thoughts on ranking points while talking to reporters.
“I don’t want to say ranking points are not important for me, of course they are, but they are not as important as they were for me,” he said. "Now I'm not really chasing the ranking as much as I have.
“I was breaking the record for longest weeks at number one and after that it wasn’t as important for me in terms of priority.”
After acknowledging his vaccine status served as an “extra motivation” to perform well at the All England Club, Djokovic said he would “love to go to [the] States” but that there was “not much he could do.” When asked if he had “completely closed his mind” to getting vaccinated, he quickly replied “Yes” before smiling and nodding.
Barring a sudden change of heart, Djokovic appears steadfast in his decision and remains on track to miss another major tournament. His exclusion would also impact his chances of claiming his 22nd Grand Slam as he looks to tie and eventually pass Nadal for the most men’s singles titles of all-time.
The U.S. Open is set to begin on Aug. 29 and ends Sept. 11.
