Serbia's Novak Djokovic wears a face mask as he listens to the national anthems prior to a Davis Cup group F match between Serbia and Austria in Innsbruck, Austria, Friday, Nov. 26, 2021. (Photo/Michael Probst)
There are some of the biggest names in the tennis world missing from the latest edition of the Miami Open 2022. We take a look at a few big absentees who won’t be competing for the coveted trophy this year.
Ashleigh Barty, who was the champion last time has recently announced her retirement. She shocked the world when she announced that she will hang up her boots at just the age of 25. The Australian had the world at her feet having won three Grand Slams in her celebrated career.
Venus and Serena Williams will miss the 37th edition of the Miami Open as well. Both sisters have been competing sporadically over the last few months. The elder sister last played a match at the Chicago Women’s Open last August. She has won the Miami Open on three occasions.
As for Serena, she last competed in the Wimbledon but was forced to retire during her match against Aliaksandra Sasnovich due to injury.
The three most followed tennis players on the men’s circuit, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, and Roger Federer will not be seen in action in the 2022 Miami Open.
A four-time winner at the competition, Roger Federer will miss out as he is rehabilitating after undergoing knee surgery last year. While the 20-time Grand Slam winner’s comeback is on the cards, he hasn’t been able to recover fully in time for the tournament.
Rafael Nadal, who had a dream run in 2022, suffered his first loss of the year in the finals of the Indian Wells Masters against Taylor Fritz. During the semi-finals and the finals of the tournament, Nadal had breathing issues. He underwent medical tests that revealed the 21-time Grand Slam champion is suffering from a “stress crack” in his left rib. This is likely to rule him out of action for the next four to six weeks.
“The King of Clay” however, had announced earlier that he would give the Miami Open a skip. He said he wanted to give his body some rest ahead of the clay-court season.
As for Novak Djokovic, he is undergoing a tough time in 2022. He was deported from Australia ahead of the Australian Open. It was due to his strong stance against vaccination and later he withdrew from the 2022 Indian Wells as well as the Miami Open owing to the United States forbidding unvaccinated travelers.
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