Djokovic Withdraws From Indian Wells After Losing Bid To Participate 

World number one Novak Djokovic will not be participating in this week's Indian Wells Masters event as he has withdrawn from the competition.

The United States rejected the Serb's application for special permission to enter the country to play at the Indian Wells and Miami Masters 1,000 events later this month due to his unvaccinated status.

A statement from Indian Wells organisers reads: "World number one Novak Djokovic has withdrawn from the 2023 BNP Paribas Open. 

"With his withdrawal, Nikoloz Basilashvili moves into the field."

This won't be the first time that the 22-time Grand Slam winner will withdraw from a competition due to his unvaccinated status.

Djokovic missed last year's US Open in New York as the US banned unvaccinated foreigners from entry into the country.

The 35-year-old also missed last year's Australian Open and was deported from the country because of his vaccination status.

He was however allowed to participate in this year's Australian Open in Melbourne and won a record-extending 10th Australian Open title, tying Rafael Nadal's men's record of 22 Grand Slam wins.

With this recent restriction, there will be no sixth Indian Wells title for Djokovic who maintains that he would skip Grand Slams rather than have a COVID-19 vaccine.