United States Tennis Association and US Open ‘hopeful’ Djokovic can compete at Indian Wells and Miami

The United States Tennis Association and US Open are “hopeful” Novak Djokovic will be successful in his petition to enter the United States for the upcoming events at Indian Wells and Miami.

Indian Wells starts on March 8 and Miami on March 22. 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.

However, the US Open have said that they are “hopeful” he will be granted permission to play both tournaments.

“Novak Djokovic is one [of] the greatest champions our sport has ever seen,” read a tweet from the US Open Tennis Twitter account.

“The USTA and US Open are hopeful that Novak is successful in his petition to enter the country, and that the fans will be able to see him back in action at Indian Wells and Miami.”

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.”

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

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.