Tennis Club Sanremo launch audacious bid for Djokovic to play Challenger tournament
Tennis NewsMonday, 13 March 2023 at 12:00
With Novak Djokovic unable to play in Indian Wells and his participation in Miami very much unlikely, an audacious project has been launched by Tennis Club Sanremo.
Djokovic has been invited to take part in the ATP Challenger 125 which is scheduled from March 26 while the Miami Open is taking place with the club using nostalgic images and a hashtag of when he played previously in 2005.
He won the 25,000 challenger in Sanremo and they will hope to call on that and his continued need for matches.
“We still have your trophy. We are waiting for you so as to give it to you, and we hope to see you playing once more on our courts," they wrote in their hashtag.
But this plan is unlikely to happen as the ATP rulebook states: Players positioned 1-10 in the ATP Singles Rankings twenty-one days prior to the first Monday of the ATP Challenger Tour tournament are prohibited from entering, accepting a wild card and/or competing in an ATP Challenger Tour tournament.
This has not prohibited multiple top names playing in Arizona next week but they sit outside the top ten.
Samuel GillEditor-in-Chief
Samuel Gill is the Chief Content Officer (CCO) of TennisUpToDate.com, a role he has held since 2020. He is responsible for editorial governance across the platform, including setting content standards, overseeing accuracy and consistency, and guiding long-term editorial strategy. Since joining, he has contributed more than 10,000 articles and editorial pieces across the TennisUpToDate network, playing a central role in the daily operation and development of the site.
Based in Leicester, Samuel has a broad background in tennis media. In his current role, he works closely with editors and writers to ensure coverage meets clear journalistic standards, with particular attention to verification, consistency, and timely updates when new information becomes available.
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