feature-image

Reuters

feature-image

Reuters

Novak Djokovic has seen it all, hasn’t he? From his Australian Open controversy to winning the Wimbledon Championships, it has been a season of massive ups and downs for the 21-time Grand Slam champion. While he failed to defend his Australian Open and the French Open titles, he came back strongly to defend his Wimbledon crown.

Watch What’s Trending Now!

However, things have taken a turn for the worse ever since his victory at the grass-court Grand Slam tournament. Owing to his vaccination status, the Serb runs the risk of missing many big tournaments in the hard-court season. In the wake of this controversy, a tennis magazine criticized him, which led to a sharp reaction from his wife, Jelena Djokovic.

ADVERTISEMENT

Novak Djokovic’s wife takes a sarcastic jibe at a tennis magazine

Recently, Racquet Magazine tweeted, “Dunno why this guy keeps entering tournaments hoping they’ll change their rules for him.” However, the statement didn’t go down well with Djokovic’s wife, Jelena Djokovic. She replied to the statement, saying, “Is this a real, international tennis magazine?! @atptour Wow.”

The 21-time Grand Slam champion has admitted that he’ll wait for an exemption to participate in the US Open. However, he won’t be changing his vaccination stance to play in the tournaments.

article-image

USA Today via Reuters

READ MORE: ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’ – Fans Rally Behind Novak Djokovic Over His ‘Grateful’ Post Amid the Controversial US Open Ban

Further, Djokovic, who lost to Daniil Medvedev in the final of the 2021 US Open, has to defend 1200 ranking points at this year’s tournament. If he does miss out on playing in New York, he’ll face a major blow to his ATP rankings.

Novak Djokovic officially withdraws from the Canadian Open

Earlier this week, the former World Number 1 pulled out of the National Bank Open in Montreal after failing to receive an entry into Canada owing to his vaccination status. The tournament is an ATP 1000 event that will commence next week.

Watch This Story: Serena Williams’ husband Alexis Ohanian, Martina Navratilova and Billie Jean King pay tribute to the American legend Bill Russell 

Apart from Djokovic, Rafael Nadal has also pulled out of the tournament. Nonetheless, the tournament has some exciting young talent in the form of Carlos Alcaraz and Felix Auger-Aliassime.

Share this with a friend:

Link Copied!

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

Written by

author-image

Vatsal Shah

3,705 Articles

Vatsal Shah is a tennis journalist at EssentiallySports, covering ATP and WTA storylines from the ES Trends Desk since 2023. He delivers breaking insights on major tournaments and player arcs, decoding tactical shifts and viral moments into accessible takeaways for fans worldwide. His coverage of Taylor Townsend’s Dubai title win stood out for capturing both the emotional significance of her victory and the context of her comeback.

Know more

Edited by

editor-image

Tony Thomas

ADVERTISEMENT