Andy Roddick Questions Novak Djokovic’s Physical Toughness Ahead of the 2026 Season

Novak Djokovic will kick off his 2026 campaign at the Adelaide International.

Andy Roddick Questions Novak Djokovic’s Physical Toughness Ahead of the 2026 Season

Andy Roddick (in crcle) and Novak Djokovic (via Instagram)

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Novak Djokovic is preparing for yet another season on the ATP Tour, despite being 38. The Serbian legend will begin his 2026 campaign at the Adelaide International before heading for the Australian Open in Melbourne. But former World No.1 Andy Roddick has questioned his physical strength as he continues to grow older.

Djokovic is currently the oldest player in the top 20 of the ATP rankings, and by next year, he will be turning 39. However, he has proven that age is not a barrier as he continues to compete against young players in the men’s circuit. In fact, the only player to beat Djokovic more than once in 2025 was Jannik Sinner.

Several players at his age have often struggled on tour and most times find themselves outside the Top 50. But Djokovic is exceptional; he will enter the 2026 season ranked World No.4, behind only Carlos Alcaraz, Sinner, and Alexander Zverev. Though he has played in fewer tournaments on tour, he always does his best in Grand Slam events.

He reached the semi-finals of all four major tournaments this year, but couldn’t get to any final. He lost to Sinner in the semi-finals of the French Open and Wimbledon Championships, while Alcaraz crushed him in the same phase at the US Open. At the Australian Open, he retired from his clash against Zverev due to injury.

Having failed to reach a major final in 2025, there seems to be no hope of him getting a chance of doing so next season. In a conversation on The Served podcast, Andy Roddick pointed out that Djokovic’s body must have taken a toll on him despite his impressive ambition on tour. He believes that Djokovic’s physical strength has begun to wane:

The question is… and he was questioning this after the US Open. I don’t know that he can train the way he used to. I would suspect that you can’t train that psychotically, and I mean that in a good way, at 38 years old. And if you can’t do that, can you get your body to hold up over the course of two weeks at a major, over best-of-five? The answer this year was no to his own admission.

Djokovic finished the 2025 season winning the Geneva Open and Hellenic Championship. Both titles came in ATP 250-level tournaments, taking his tally to 101 tour-level crowns. However, with both titles coming in lower tour-level events, there’s a growing likelihood he might not be able to compete for ATP Masters 1000 or Grand Slam titles.

ATP player says Novak Djokovic has not yet lost his locker room aura on tour

Novak Djokovic has suffered some uncharacteristic losses in the last two seasons on tour. He lost to Alejandro Tabilo twice on clay and has crashed out in the opening rounds of events. Those losses have led to the belief that Djokovic is beginning to lose his locker room aura and that players no longer fear him.

Novak Djokovic
Novak Djokovic (Image via X/AllAboutHQ)

But Aleksandar Kovacevic has rubbished those claims during his interview on the Changeover podcast. The ATP player admitted that despite Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner’s presence on tour being intimidating, Djokovic still bears his locker room aura because of the great achievements he has made on tour:

In terms of locker room aura, Novak’s still got it because of the greatest of all time thing. Sinner and Alcaraz have a little bit of that where it’s like,’ Oh s—-‘ when they walk in the room, otherwise no-one really cares man. We’re just like clocking into a job and it’s the same guys like every week.

Djokovic will hope to win his 25th Grand Slam in 2026, which will make him the undisputed greatest player to ever grace the court. He won his 24th Slam at the 2023 US Open and has since then struggled in the shadows of Alcaraz and Sinner on tour. The duo has won the last eight Slams.

Also Read: Toni Nadal Calls Carlos Alcaraz’s Team’s Rushed Contract Negotiation with Juan Carlos Ferrero ‘a Bit Strange’