INDIAN WELLS, Calif. — Top-ranked Novak Djokovic is the latest big-name tennis player to drop out of the BNP Paribas Open set for next month in the Southern California desert.
“I am sorry I won’t get to see my fans in Indian Wells and play in the desert, my favourite place to go,” he tweeted Wednesday.
Djokovic came up one victory short of claiming all four Grand Slam titles this year, losing in the US Open final earlier this month. He won the Australian Open, French Open and Wimbledon titles.
Djokovic joins women’s No. 1 Ash Barty in skipping the tournament featuring the combined men’s and women’s tours. It will be played Oct. 4-17, a switch from its usual March date on the calendar because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Emma Raducanu, the surprise U.S. Open women’s winner, received a wild card into the event. Also in the women’s field are teenagers Leylah Fernandez, the US Open runner-up, and Coco Gauff.
Also out of the event are former winners Naomi Osaka and Roger Federer, who is recovering from knee surgery in August.