"I wouldn't have felt threatened by Novak if he was here unvaccinated" - Casper Ruud on Novak Djokovic's "silly" 2023 Indian Wells ban
Norwegian tennis sensation Casper Ruud recently gave his verdict on Novak Djokovic's 2023 Indian Wells ban, calling it "silly."
Djokovic withdrew from the 2023 BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells after his exemption request was rejected. The World No.1 is currently not allowed to enter the USA due to the country's vaccine mandate. This requirement will be lifted on May 11, when the country's national public health emergency ends.
Casper Ruud was asked to comment on the situation in an interview with Eurosport on the latest episode of "Ruud Talk," and the Norwegian said that the whole rule is "silly" and "childish". Ruud reasoned that since the rule will change in some time anyway, they could've changed it earlier to allow the Serb to compete in the Masters tournament.
"Yeah, I mean, it's not up to me to say whether it's fair or not. I think the rule is silly if he's not a threat to the community at all at this stage whether or not he's vaccinated, so that's something that I can say. It's a bit sort of childish because the rule changes in a couple of weeks so they couldn't might as well change it already," Ruud said.
However, the World No. 4 quickly added that "rules are rules" and that he is confident that everything has been tried to make it happen for Djokovic. He stated that he would not have felt "threatened" by the presence of the unvaccinated Serb if he was competing in the tournament.
"But rules are rules and I'm sure they have tried everything that they can. With the context that Novak has, I'm sure that everything has been tried, and it hasn't been possible," Ruud said.
"In general, the country has sort of banned unvaccinated until in around a month, I think they will open the ban or something so it is a bit silly if you ask me but it's fair or not, I don't know. Like I said, I wouldn't have felt threatened by Novak if he was here and he was unvaccinated," he added.
Will Novak Djokovic play in the Miami Open and US Open following his Indian Wells withdrawal?
It is still unclear whether Novak Djokovic will play in the Miami Open. He is still on the entry list for the ATP 1000 tournament, which begins on March 22, and he hasn't pulled out yet.
If the US regulations requiring international travelers to be vaccinated do indeed expire on May 11, the Serb could return for the US Open. He could also be able to take part in the Western & Southern Open in the summer.