Novak Djokovic and Serena Williams have been included on the entry list of US Open 2022. The tournament starts on August 29 and the final will be played on September 11. 

Djokovic, who won the Wimbledon this year, cannot enter the United States as rules state that travellers have to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19. The 21-time Grand Slam winner has refused to take the vaccine. 

Also read: Commonwealth Games 2022: Major sporting events excluded

The 35-year-old was deported from Australia due to the controversey around his vaccination status. After losing in Dubai, Monte Carlo, his home turf Serbia, Rome and Spain, Djoko managed to win Wimbledon. 

Djokovic, however, told BBC that he would be willing to miss tournaments to maintain his unvaccinated status. More than 23,000 people, as per CNN report, have signed an online petition on change.org urging the United States Tennis Association (USTA) and the government to allow the Serb in the grand slam.

“Per the Grand Slam Rule Book, all eligible players are automatically entered into the men’s and women’s singles main draw fields based on ranking 42 days prior to the first Monday of the event,” the U.S. Open said in its statement.

“The U.S. Open does not have a vaccination mandate in place for players, but it will respect the U.S. government’s position regarding travel into the country for unvaccinated non-U.S. citizens,” it said.

Hence, as of now, Djokovic is not playing the US Open. He had on social media dropped a hint about ‘having dinner with Wimbledon runner-up Nick Kyrgios in New York‘, which meant he would travel to the US. 

Serena Williams on the other hand participated at Wimbledon after a year-long break. She was knocked out in the first round. The 23-time Grand Slam champion will be one key player to look out for as she competes on her home-turf.