Novak Djokovic’s US Open Heat Reaches the White House as Press Secretary Gets Grilled Over His Expulsion From the Tournament

The 21-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic has missed this year’s US Open due to his stand on not getting the Covid-19 vaccine. Moreover, there were a lot of controversies regarding the Serb not getting an exemption to play in the US Open. Many fans and former players felt disappointed. Meanwhile, the White House finally reacted to this controversy.

During a recent interview, Peter Doocy from Fox News asked a question to the White House press secretary, Karine Jean-Pierre, about not letting Djokovic play.

White House answers tough questions about Novak Djokovic and his ban from US Open 2022

At first, Doocy asked Jean-Pierre about letting unvaccinated migrants enter the country but not a tennis player like Djokovic. In reply, the White House press secretary said, “The U.S. government cannot discuss the details of individual visa cases. Due to privacy reasons, the U.S. also does not comment on medical information of individual travelers as it relates to this tennis player.“

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She further talked about CDC’s (U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) rules regarding a player entering the country and the migrants entering the country, as she said, “It’s two different things.“

Djokovic announced his withdrawal from the US Open just before the draw on the 25th of August. Before that, he was hoping for some sort of exemption from the US government as he posted various training videos on social media. While announcing his withdrawal from the tournament, he thanked his fans for all the support.

Notably, many fans signed a petition as they wanted the US government to make an exception for Djokovic, which did not work. Moreover, many former and current players could not believe that they won’t be seeing one of the best tennis players on the planet at this year’s US Open.

Djokovic had a terrible year before the Wimbledon Championships

Earlier, at the Australian Open, the Serb went through a torrid time, as the Australian government deported him back to his country just before the start of the tournament. After facing deportation, Djokovic talked about sacrificing his Grand Slam chances, as he made a personal decision to not take the vaccine.

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As a result of this, he missed many tournaments, including the Indian Wells and the Miami Masters. Then, the rule change at the French Open and Wimbledon helped him to compete for the trophy in Paris and London.

In Wimbledon, he looked unbeatable, as he found his form and won the tournament for a fourth consecutive time. However, missing the US Open will significantly affect his ranking. Notably, we will see the Serb in the Laver cup next, which will start on 23rd September.