With Indian Wells Days Away, Novak Djokovic Hopes for a Miracle

It’s not clear why Djokovic believes he might qualify for an exemption. The only criteria he would seem to be able to meet involves proving that getting vaccinated would be harmful to his health or that his presence in the United States “would be in the national interest, as determined by the Secretary of State, Secretary of Transportation, or Secretary of Homeland Security (or their designees),” according to the website for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Last month, the House of Representatives passed a bill rescinding the vaccination requirement 227-203, with seven Democrats joining all Republicans voting in favor. Supporters of the bill said the U.S. policy is out of step with the rest of the world, where vaccination requirements for foreigners have largely gone away. The Senate has not voted on the matter, which, according to the C.D.C., will not end automatically in May when the Biden administration plans to end the Covid-19 national and public health emergencies declared in 2020.

Ending the vaccination requirement for foreign travelers will most likely require a separate order from President Biden ending the presidential proclamation that put it into effect.

Haas, the Indian Wells tournament director, said there is a silver lining to the absences of Djokovic, Nadal and possibly Alcaraz, at least for the other players.

“If I’m like a young American coming up, I’m like, listen this is my time to hold up the trophy,” Haas said. “Now from my point of view as the tournament director and one of the best players can’t compete here, it’s obviously a sad thing, a frustrating thing.”

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/03/sports/tennis/djokovic-alcaraz-indian-wells.html