Unvaccinated Novak Djokovic officially withdraws from BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells

INDIAN WELLS, Calif. — Five-time champion and world No. 2 Novak Djokovic has officially withdrawn from the BNP Paribas Open. 

The Serbian tennis star has remained resolute in his stance against receiving the COVID-19 vaccination and has said that he’s willing to miss tournaments over the issue, if necessary. 

Due to current travel restrictions for unvaccinated foreigners flying into the United States, the 20-time Grand Slam singles champion was unable to gain entry into the country to play in Indian Wells, California.

The BNP Paribas Open began Monday with qualifying. The men's main draw starts Thursday and continues through March 20. Djokovic remained in the BNP Paribas Open draw  until Wednesday, when the tournament announced his withdrawal due to his inability to travel into the country. 

Djokovic, 34, then tweeted his own announcement, stating that he also will not play in Miami later this month.

"While I was automatically in the @BNPParibasOpen and @MiamiOpen draw, I knew it would be unlikely I'd be able to travel," Djokovic tweeted. "The CDC has confirmed that regulations won't be changing, so I won't be able to play in the US. Good luck to those playing in these great tournaments."

Djokovic's withdrawal, though late, was not surprising. He was not expected to play at Indian Wells prior to the official withdrawal, and the tournament hinted as much with a life-sized cutout of Djokovic hung on a wall at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden, along with other stars who have withdrawn. Next to the cutouts were the words, "We miss you."

As the next player in line to be seeded, Grigor Dimitrov will move into Djokovic's spot in the draw, and a Lucky Loser from qualifying will move into Dimitrov’s space in the draw once qualifying is complete.

The absence of Djokovic at this year’s BNP Paribas Open will surely be disappointing for a tournament that also will not have Roger Federer. The two tennis icons have each won the tournament a record five times. Djokovic holds the record for most consecutive matches won (19) at Indian Wells, which he accomplished from 2014-17, and his 85% (50-9) win percentage is the highest in tournament history. 

Indian Wells and Miami are two of the largest tournaments in the world. A crowd of 475,372 attended the BNP Paribas Open over two weeks in 2019, before the pandemic canceled the 2020 event and played a role in a reduced attendance in 2021. The Miami Open drew 388,734 in 2019.

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It’s fair to wonder how vaccine travel restrictions may affect the upcoming tournament schedule of the second-ranked player in the world, who until Feb. 28 had held the top ranking in men’s tennis, consecutively, for more than two years. He lost that distinction to Daniil Medvedev. 

Though the Tour does not require players to be vaccinated for COVID-19, the U.S. does not currently allow unvaccinated foreigners to fly into the country. The country has no such mandate for U.S. citizens, permanent residents or those traveling on an immigration visa.

In late February, Djokovic was asked by a reporter in Dubai if he had plans to play at Indian Wells, and Djokovic replied that he was waiting to see if the U.S. may change those travel restrictions, which would allow him to fly into the country.

“As of today, … I can’t go — can’t enter United States,” Djokovic said. “As of today, I’m not able to play. But let’s see what happens. I mean, maybe things change in the next few weeks.”

Things did not change. Djokovic's absence from the tournament that he’s won five times will now be extended at least another year. Djokovic has not played at Indian Wells since 2019, when he was upset by Philipp Kohlschreiber in the Round of 32. 

The tournament was then canceled amid the pandemic in 2020 and rescheduled in 2021 for October. Djokovic, who had won three of the four Grand Slam singles titles before falling short of a Calendar Slam at the U.S. Open in September, did not travel to Indian Wells.

Djokovic traveled to Melbourne in January to defend his Australian Open title. But after a public clash with the country’s health officials, he was eventually expelled from the country and flew home to Serbia.

Djokovic played in Dubai last month, where he defeated Lorenzo Musetti and Karen Khachanov before falling to qualifier Jiri Vesely in the quarterfinals.

Andrew John covers sports for The Desert Sun and the USA Today Network. Email him at andrew.john@desertsun.com and find him on Twitter at @Andrew_L_John.