‘I Cannot Enter the United States’ – Novak Djokovic to Skip Indian Wells 2022

Novak Djokovic might quickly want to forget the start of the 2022 season. After the highs of the previous season, which saw him win three Grand Slam titles, it has been contrasting fortunes for the Serb this season. Djokovic failed to defend his Australian Open title after deportation from Australia. To make matters worse, his No. 1 ranking is in danger after losing valuable ranking points.

The Serb is in Dubai where he is playing in the ATP 500 Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships. Recently, he revealed some grim news regarding his upcoming tournaments.

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Novak Djokovic to miss the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells

The Serb outlined his plan for the rest of the season. After the events in Australia that led to his deportation, the 20-time Grand Slam champion gave an honest opinion on his upcoming tournaments and said that as of today, he cannot play the Indian Wells Masters next month.

He said, “As of today, I cannot because I cannot enter the United States. As of today, I’m not able to play (Indian Wells). But let’s see what happens. Maybe things change in the next few weeks.” 

The BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, USA is the first ATP Masters 1000 event of the season. It will commence on March 10, 2022.

Djokovic admits he doesn’t intend to play the entire 2022 season

The 34-year-old had a torrid time in Australia last month. He was embroiled in a legal battle against his deportation. Eventually, a day before the commencement of the Australian Open, he lost the final legal battle and subsequently returned to his hometown.

Recently, he admitted, “Actually, I’m just gonna have to follow the rules. Whenever I am allowed to play in a tournament, I will try to go to this country to play. Obviously, I don’t intend to play a full season. It wasn’t my intention either.” (Translated using Google Translate)

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In his first tournament of this season in Dubai, Djokovic won his first-round match comfortably. He defeated Italy’s Lorenzo Musetti in straight sets 6-3, 6-3. Although the Serb is the favorite to lift the title in Dubai, it will be interesting to see how the tournament pans out.