Novak Djokovic won’t be part of this year’s draw at Indian Wells. Djokovic, who was previously expected to make a run for his sixth title at the BNP Paribas Open in 2021, decided to withdraw from the tournament.
The news was officially confirmed by Indian Wells on Wednesday.
“We are disappointed that Novak will not be able to join us at the BNP Paribas Open this fall,” tournament director Tommy Haas said in a statement.
Djokovic later made the announcement of his own on Twitter, calling Indian Wells his “favorite place to go” and adding that he hopes he’ll return to the tournament in 2022.
The 2021 Indian Wells is scheduled between October 4th and October 17th after being moved from its usual March starting date. Austrian Dominic Thiem is the reigning champion, having won the tournament in 2019. The 2020 edition was canceled due to a coronavirus pandemic.
Novak Djokovic is yet to play in the official tennis match since losing to Daniil Medvedev in the 2021 US Open Finals. The loss prevented Djokovic from achieving Calendar-year Grand Slam, considering he previously won the three other major tournaments in 2021: the Australian Open, French Open, and Wimbledon. He also remains in a three-way tie with Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal for most career Grand Slams with 20.
