Novak Djokovic: Is he playing Indian Wells? When will a decision be made? Will he miss Miami Open?

Novak Djokovic’s hopes of playing Indian Wells and the Miami Open remain up in the air with under a week to go until the former starts.

World No. 1 Djokovic has not played either ATP Masters 1000 event since 2019, and is currently not able to enter the United States as he is unvaccinated against Covid-19.

Will Djokovic play Indian Wells?

Djokovic’s participation at Indian Wells is still unknown.

The tournament starts on March 8 and as it stands Djokovic is not allowed to travel to the US, which at the moment is the only country on the ATP Tour that requires international travellers to be vaccinated against Covid-19.

The current US entry regulations are set to be lifted on May 11.

Indian Wells tournament director Tommy Haas has said Djokovic’s “situation is obviously frustrating for us”.

“So of course, you’re like, OK, let’s try to make this happen. How can we figure this out that’s going to be realistic? But at the end of the day, unfortunately, that’s not in our hands and that’s what’s frustrating.”

Djokovic missed large chunks of the 2022 season due to being unvaccinated.

He didn’t play the Australian Open, Indian Wells or the Miami Open, and then missed the North American hard-court summer, including the US Open and back-to-back Masters events.

When will a decision be made?

Djokovic is 15-1 in 2023 and enjoying one of his best-ever starts to a season.

When is the Indian Wells draw?

The draw for Indian Wells will take place on Monday, March 6.

Qualifying for the tournament starts on March 6 and the main draw for the ATP and WTA events starts on Wednesday, March 8.

Will Djokovic miss any other events?

As it stands it looks as though Djokovic will be able to play the rest of the season.

The US regulations requiring international travellers to be vaccinated look set to end on May 11, which would mean Djokovic can return to play the US Open in the summer, as well as the Canadian Open and Western & Southern Open.

There are no restrictions to prevent him playing throughout the European clay season or the grass season, so he will be free to play the French Open and Wimbledon.

The first big event of the clay season is the Monte-Carlo Masters which starts on April 9.

Who else is playing Indian Wells?

Alcaraz has a chance to finish Indian Wells as world No. 1 after Djokovic was beaten in the semi-finals of the Dubai Tennis Championships.

Alcaraz made the semis in Indian Wells last year so can gain a maximum of 640 additional ranking points this time around if he wins the title. He can also gain 240 for finishing as runner-up, but Djokovic will start next week 380 points ahead, so Alcaraz needs to win the title to get to No. 1.

If Alcaraz doesn’t get to No. 1 in Indian Wells then he can’t after the Miami Open as he is defending champion there so has no points to gain.

World No. 3 Stefanos Tsitsipas could be in contention to get to No. 1 for the first time as he only has 135 points to defend across the two events.

Tsitsipas will be 1,355 points behind Djokovic next week.

What’s the prize money at Indian Wells?

The prize money at the tournament is the same for men and women.

The winner of the event will earn $1,262,220 (£1.05m), the runner-up will get $662,360 (£551,507), the semi-finalists get $352,635 (£293,618) and the quarter-finalists $184,465 (£153,592).