Novak Djokovic withdraws from the Miami Open

Top-ranked Novak Djokovic will skip the Miami Open, saying less than a week after a surprise loss at Indian Wells that he needs to balance his “private and professional schedule.” (AP)
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Updated 16 March 2024
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Novak Djokovic withdraws from the Miami Open

  • “At this stage of my career, I’m balancing my private and professional schedule,” Djokovic wrote
  • The 36-year-old Djokovic is a six-time champion in Miami

MIAMI, USA: Top-ranked Novak Djokovic will skip the Miami Open, saying less than a week after a surprise loss at Indian Wells that he needs to balance his “private and professional schedule.”
Djokovic’s announcement Saturday on his social media accounts follows his 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 defeat to unheralded Luca Nardi on Monday in the third round of the BNP Paribas Open.
“At this stage of my career, I’m balancing my private and professional schedule. I’m sorry that I won’t experience some of the best and most passionate fans in the world,” Djokovic wrote.
Nardi, who is ranked No. 123, become the lowest-ranked player to beat Djokovic in a Grand Slam or ATP Masters 1000 level event, surpassing No. 122 Kevin Anderson in 2008 in Miami.
The 20-year-old Italian got into the field as a “lucky loser,” which is a player who stumbled on the final hurdle in qualifying but made it into the main draw as a replacement for an injured player who pulled out before the first round.
The 36-year-old Djokovic is a six-time champion in Miami. The hardcourt tournament begins next week.


Sabalenka debuts engagement ring during Indian Wells win

Updated 07 March 2026
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Sabalenka debuts engagement ring during Indian Wells win

  • World number one sported the striking oval-cut diamond ring for the first time in competition after getting engaged to Georgios Frangulis late on Tuesday

INDIAN WELLS, California: Aryna Sabalenka’s performance in a 6-4 6-2 second-round win over Japan’s Himeno Sakatsume was not the only thing that dazzled at Indian Wells on Friday, with the world number one also showing off her shiny new engagement ring.
The 27-year-old sported the striking oval-cut diamond ring for the first time in competition after getting engaged to Georgios Frangulis late on Tuesday.
“It feels super comfortable and shiny,” ‌she told ‌reporters.
“We double-checked if there was a ‌possibility ⁠to lose the ⁠diamond, and there was none. I was pretty confident wearing it, hoping it might even distract my opponent.”
Sabalenka, who has made the final of the WTA 1000 event twice in the last three years, said that while the proposal came as ⁠a complete surprise to her, the ‌entire team was in ‌on the engagement secret.
“I saw Georgios and I was crying ‌half of the time, because I thought ‌that I looked ugly, not prepared, and this is such a beautiful moment,” she said.
“I stopped everything, and I asked the videographer and the photographer to make sure ‌that my face was not (in the pictures), just the ring, and side ⁠views and ⁠from the back, just so you guys wouldn’t be shocked by the way I looked.
“But it was a beautiful moment.”
Sabalenka was asked what she has learned about Frangulis, the CEO of global health-food brand OakBerry, and what he has learned about her since they began dating in 2024.
“What I have learned about him? He likes Oakberry a lot,” the four-times Grand Slam champion said. “What he has learned about me? That I’m crazy,” she added with a laugh.