The highest profile athlete Novak Djokovic has been granted the opportunity to play in the United States after the US government confirmed that it is lifting its Covid-19 vaccine mandate on international travellers.
Djokovic has been unable to play in the United States since the vaccine mandate came into effect in November 2021.
The world number one last played the US Open in 2021, where he lost in the final to Russia’s Daniil Medvedev. However, Djokovic has been unable to participate in US tennis tournaments due to the travel mandate.
Djokovic applied unsuccessfully for a special exemption to enter the United States to play this year’s Masters events at Indian Wells and Miami.
Both US Open organizers and the US Tennis Association had called for Djokovic to be granted an exemption.
US tennis great John McEnroe was among those who criticized the decision to continue to bar Djokovic from the United States.
Djokovic was infamously deported from Australia last year and was not able to participate in this year’s Australian Open due to his vaccine status.
On Monday, the White House confirmed that the vaccination requirement for travellers entering the United States will be lifted on May 11.
More than a million people died from Covid-19 in the United States, but the White House said that the pandemic had been all but stopped.
“Since January 2021, Covid-19 deaths have declined by 95 per cent and hospitalizations are down nearly 91 per cent. Globally, Covid-19 deaths are at their lowest levels since the start of the pandemic,” the White House said in a statement.
