Novak Djokovic has withdrawn from this yr’s US Open tennis event, bringing up his incapability to trip to New York as a result of his abstention from taking the Covid-19 vaccine.

The United States state division and Facilities for Illness Regulate proceed to require non-US voters travelling to the rustic to be totally vaccinated in opposition to the coronavirus, proscribing the Serbian tennis superstar from competing within the ultimate Grand Slam event of the yr, which starts on Monday.

It marks the second one main look this yr wherein Djokovic, a 21-time Slam event champion, has been limited from play because of his vaccination standing. He was once deported from Melbourne in January earlier than a bid to compete within the Australian Open.

“Unfortunately, I will be able to no longer be capable of trip to NY this time for US Open,” Djokovic wrote on Twitter on Thursday. “Just right success to my fellow gamers! I’ll stay in just right form and certain spirit and stay up for a chance to compete once more.”

Djokovic was once in a position to compete in closing yr’s US Open, which concluded in early September and wherein he was once the finalist, because it happened earlier than the White Space issued its present proclamation in October 2021 requiring non-citizen guests to be totally vaccinated.

Stacey Allaster, event director for the USA Open, showed Djokovic would no longer take part this yr “as he’s not able to go into the rustic because of the government’s vaccination coverage for non-US voters”, including in a remark that it hopes to peer him go back in 2023.

Djokovic has been outstanding amongst a snatch of celebrities and athletes refusing to take a Covid-19 vaccine for private or spiritual causes, and helping illustrate the complexities of worldwide trip as public coverage shifts throughout the pandemic.

Kyrie Irving, a Nationwide Basketball Affiliation participant for the Brooklyn Nets, has prominently abstained from taking the vaccine and was once limited from competing for many of the 2021-2022 season because of a New York Town ordinance that prohibited unvaccinated native staff from coming to paintings. Eric Adams, the town’s mayor, made an exception for athletes and performers in March.

Djokovic’s tussle with Australian immigration government in January stemmed from the Australian Open’s resolution to grant him an exemption from vaccination requirement to go into the rustic, prompting a huge public backlash within the nation and resulting in a fortnight of visa appeals and denials earlier than he was once in the long run deported.