Chandra Rubin calls out Djokovic for late withdrawal from Indian Wells

Former American tennis player Chandra Rubin called out Novak Djokovic for his late withdrawal hoping that it won't become a theme.

Withdrawals are part of tennis yet former top 10 player Chandra Rubin took exception with Djokovic only withdrawing at the late minute from an event everybody knew he wasn't going to play. The withdrawal had implications on the draw and seedings and the American player hopes that this trend doesn't continue for Novak.

She said:

"I just hope that going forward, [Novak Djokovic's last-minute withdrawal] isn't the continuing story at the beginning of every tournament where we kind of already know the regulations and requirements that are already in place."

Speaking to the Tennis Channel, she further said:

"With him so far being unvaccinated, that has been the big issue. Hopefully, he can at least make the decisions that he needs to make without becoming a negative story at the start of these events. It's one thing if you are a bit injured and you are on site, you are hoping to play, you kind of wait till the last moment."

She continued:

"But in a case like this - you haven't traveled, you're not even on site, you're not in the place where you need to be like training or getting ready for the tournament. It just seemed unlikely [that he was going to play]. To wait till a day or two before the tournament with the draw already made, that kind of changes everything across the board."