Ex-WTA star expresses concerns about Novak Djokovic’s early season injury troubles
A viral clip of Novak Djokovic limping at a Doha airport has sparked concerns over his injury troubles.
Novak Djokovic (via ATP/X)
Novak Djokovic‘s momentum this season was stalled earlier on when he tore his hamstring at the Australian Open. Although he returned to the court at the Qatar Open, he was seen limping as he entered an airport to depart from Doha. This has led former WTA No.9 Andrea Petkovic to express her concerns about his injury troubles.
Djokovic revealed before the 2025 season that he was determined to play in more tournaments than last season. The Serbian proved it by playing in the Brisbane International for the first time in over a decade. He then featured at the Australian Open, where he suffered a muscular tear that forced him to retire during his semifinal match against Alexander Zverev.
After over a month on the sideline, the. 37-year-old star returned to the court at the Qatar Open, where he suffered a first round defeat against Matteo Berrettini. After the match, he revealed that he didn’t feel any pain, but a video emerged of him limping while entering an airport in Doha. This raised some fears that the World No.7 might have made his comeback from the hamstring injury too soon.
Speaking on the topic, Andrea Petkovic, former German ace, has expressed concerns that Djokovic might have begun to start practicing early after the muscle tear. She added that doing well in training sometimes doesn’t reflect in competition.
Novak, we don’t know when he was able to start practising with that muscle tear he had in his thigh. So maybe a bit early, the comeback. I don’t know, we will see whether he says something on it or whether he just needs a bit of time in the competition side and he’s already doing really well in training.That’s sometimes also the case when you come back from injuries. Sometimes you’re already doing tremendously well in training and it just takes a while in competition.
Andrea Petkovic said via Tennis Channel’s Inside-In podcast
Djokovic is set to compete in the Indian Wells Open, as the tournament confirmed his participation in the first leg of the Sunshine Double. However, his status for the Miami Open, which begins a week later, remains uncertain.
Andrea Petkovic says Novak Djokovic doubters should remain in “perpetual silence”
Novak Djokovic has a win-loss record of 7-3 this season in just three tournaments. However, his best performance among them was against Carlos Alcaraz at the Australian Open. The Serbian ace defeated the Spaniard in four sets despite struggling with a pain in his right leg. He showed resilience on the court, which has earned him praise from current and former players.
During the aforementioned conversation, Andrea Petkovic added that anybody in doubt about Djokovic’s tennis should be punished with perpetual silence.
Whoever doubts Novak’s tennis ever again, whether Novak’s 37 years old or 55 years old, should from this day forth be punished with perpetual silence. Yes, I’m talking about myself. It’s not that I ever doubted the quality of tennis necessarily, it’s just that I couldn’t quite believe he would be able to retain enough explosiveness to hang with the young guys.
Andrea Petkovic said
Djokovic, who has 99 tour-level titles in his career, failed to win an ATP title last season. He has been aiming to reach his 100th title and also win his 25th Grand Slam, which will cement his place as the greatest player of all time.
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