U.S. Open draw: Serena Williams to face Danka Kovinic; unvaccinated Novak Djokovic withdraws

Serena Williams drew unseeded Danka Kovinic in the first round of the U.S. Open next week in what is expected to be the final tournament of her career.  Kovinic, a 27-year-old from Montenegro, is ranked 80th in the world.

The 23-time Grand Slam champion announced earlier this month that she was planning to step away from her playing career and that this year’s Open would likely be her last tournament.

The United States Tennis Association released the brackets for the women’s and men’s singles events Thursday. First-round play is Monday and Tuesday. It has not been announced which day Williams will play but ticket sales for the matches those nights skyrocketed after Williams was given a wild card into the event.

Williams, who turns 41 on Sept. 26, is ranked 608th in the world. She has a 1-3 record since returning to the tour in June and was most recently beaten by Emma Raducanu in the opening round of the Western and Southern Open last week.

This will be the first meeting between Kovinic and Williams. Kovinic has been ranked as high as 46 and has played well against some big names before. In January, she became the first woman from her country to reach the third round of a Grand Slam when she beat Radacanu at the Australian Open.

Raducanu, the defending U.S. Open champion, faces a tough first round match against No. 37 Alize Cornet of France.

Other notable first-round matchups include No.1 seed Iga Swiatek, who will open against Jasmine Paolini, an unseeded Italian ranked 57th, and Naomi Osaka, who will face No. 19 Danielle Collins. Osaka, a two-time U.S. Open champion, is unseeded in the tournament and has played sparingly this season.

Venus Williams, 42, could also be possibly playing in her last U.S. Open. Ranked 467, she will open play against Alison Van Uytvanck, who is ranked No. 42.

Overshadowing the release of the men’s brackets was the news that three-time U.S. Open champ Novak Djokovic will not be competing because of his unvaccinated status.

Djokovic made the announcement Thursday morning, shortly before the draw was to be revealed, tweeting "Sadly, I will not be able to travel to NY this time for U.S. Open."

Foreign citizens who have not been vaccinated against COVID-19 are currently unable to enter the U.S or Canada. Djokovic, who has had COVID twice, has said he won’t get the shots, even if that prevents him from playing in certain tournaments.

Djokovic was sent home from Australia in January without playing in the Open after the Australian government canceled the star athlete’s visa. He was able to play at the French Open and Wimbledon after France and England relaxed their vaccination requirements.

Daniil Medvedev of Russia, who defeated Djokovic in last year’s U.S. Open, is the No. 1 men’s seed. He will open the tournament against Stefan Kozlov, an unseeded American ranked 110. No. 2 Rafael Nadal, who has played just once since suffering an abdominal injury in Wimbledon, will face Rinky Hijikata, a wild-card entry from Australia.

By Barbara Barker

barbara.barker@newsday.commeanbarb

Barbara Barker is an award-winning columnist and features writer in the sports department at Newsday. She has covered sports in New York for more than 20 years.